ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Registered Third Parties

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport,representing the Speaker's Committee on the ElectoralCommission how many (a) organisations and (b) individuals are registered with the Electoral Commission as Registered Third Parties; and how many were so registered in each month since 2004.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission's statutory register of recognised Third Parties is available at www.electoralcommission.org.uk. There are currently 22 recognised Third Parties on this Register, 20 of which are organisations and two are individuals.
	As of the last day in each month since January 2004 the number on the register was:
	
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 2004  
			 January 9 
			 February 11 
			 March 11 
			 April 12 
			 May 14 
			 June 14 
			 July 14 
			 August 15 
			 September 16 
			 October 16 
			 November 15 
			 December 16 
			 2005  
			 January 16 
			 February 18 
			 March 20 
			 April 26 
			 May 26 
			 June 26 
			 July 25 
			 August 23 
			 September 23 
			 October 23 
			 November 22

Registered Third Parties

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many officials in the Electoral Commission deal with the registration of Registered Third Parties; at what grade; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Viggers: The Commission informs me that no staff are employed full time on the registration of recognised Third Parties, but aspects of this form part of the duties of three officials. The staff concerned are at manager, officer and assistant level respectively.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Correspondence

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General how many(a) letters from hon. Members, (b) letters from members of the public and (c) parliamentary questions from (i) hon. Members and (ii) Lords were dealt with by the Law Officers' Department in each year since 1995 in respect of what percentage his Department took (A) more than one month and (B) more than three months to provide a substantive answer; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The Report for 2004 was published on 6 April 2005, Official Report, columns 137–40WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.
	In respect of correspondence from members of the public, my Department have provided statistics dating back to November of last year, when the Correspondence Unit was first set up. During the period 1 November 2004 to date we have replied to 91 per cent. of correspondence within 20 working days. Following tables show these figures.
	
		LSLO correspondence unit: response to letters from 'general public' -- November 2004
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 59 
			 On time 54 
			 Out of time 6 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 92 per cent.
	
		December 2004
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 49 
			 On time 43 
			 Out of time 6 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 88 per cent.
	
		January 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 96 
			 On time 67 
			 Out of time 29 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 70 per cent.
	
		February 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 90 
			 On time 81 
			 Out of time 9 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 90 per cent.
	
		March 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 131 
			 On time 120 
			 Out of time 11 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 92 per cent.
	
		April 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 109 
			 On time 98 
			 Out of time 11 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 90 per cent.
	
		May 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 79 
			 On time 7 
			 Out of time 6 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 92 per cent.
	
		June 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 68 
			 On time 58 
			 Out of time 10 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 85 per cent.
	
		July 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 97 
			 On time 94 
			 Out of time 3 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 97 per cent.
	
		August 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 93 
			 On time 87 
			 Out of time 6 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 94%
	
		September 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 58 
			 On time 54 
			 Out of time 4 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 93 per cent.
	
		October 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Number of letters 66 
			 On time 63 
			 Out of time 3 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 95 per cent.
	
		November 2005
		
			  Name 
		
		
			 Number of letters 69 
			 On time 69 
			 Out of time 0 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 100 per cent.
	
		Up to 7 December 2005
		
			  Name 
		
		
			 Number of letters 9 
			 On time 9 
			 Out of time 0 
		
	
	Note:
	Performance target reached: 100 per cent.

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General how many statutory instruments introduced by the Department had to be (a) withdrawn, (b) amended by a further statutory instrument and (c) reprinted because of defective drafting in each session since 1997; and what steps he (i) is taking and (ii) plans to take to prevent further such instances.

Mike O'Brien: None have been withdrawn or reprinted because of defective drafting. Two have been revoked and replaced by statutory instruments giving effect to new legislation.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

A120 (Expansion)

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to safeguard the efficient use of agricultural land affected by the proposed expansion of the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	The Highways Agency will seek to minimise the impact of the new A120 road improvement on agricultural holdings and farm practices, within a balanced environmental design strategy. The strategy, which is still in development stage, will consider agricultural land take, the severance of individual or associated farm units and the creation of non-viable land parcels, whilst maintaining farm access routes, or providing acceptable alternatives where necessary.

Animal Welfare

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of animals likely to need re-homing as a result of the introduction of the new welfare offence in the Animal Welfare Bill; and what percentage change she expects in the number of animals in need of re-homing.

Ben Bradshaw: We have no statistics for the number of animals currently requiring re-homing. However the introduction of the welfare offence is not expected to increase overall numbers significantly. We believe that the majority of sanctuaries are run satisfactory, providing a valuable service to animal welfare. However, there is evidence that a minority pose a risk. The Animal Welfare Bill will enable this risk to be addressed throughthe introduction of secondary legislation. The Regulatory Impact Assessment published in conjunction with the Bill proposes that all sanctuaries should be required to register with local authorities on the basis of a veterinary assessment and be subject to a code of practice by 2009. The regulation of animal sanctuaries under the Animal Welfare Bill will enable reliable data to be built up by local authorities so that high-risk establishments can be identified and inspected.
	We propose to work closely with welfare organisations and representatives of animal sanctuaries in preparing secondary legislation. This consultation will enable us to refine our thinking on key issues such as the criteria for regulating a sanctuary and the guidance which the code will give on rehabilitation and re-homing. The draft regulations and code will be subject to public consultation and there will also be the opportunity for discussion in Parliament.

Animal Welfare

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many animal sanctuaries she estimates are open to the public in England;
	(2)  what recent estimate she has made of the number of animal sanctuaries there are in England.

Ben Bradshaw: Because animal sanctuaries are notregulated there is a lack of comprehensive data on their numbers in England. The Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) which accompanied the Animal Welfare Bill, published on 14 October 2005, gave a conservative estimate of 700 sanctuaries in England and Wales based on previous consultations with animal sanctuary interests. It is not known what percentage of animal sanctuaries are open to the general public.

Animal Welfare

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what process her Department undertakes to estimate the number of animal sanctuaries; and what definition of a sanctuary is used.

Ben Bradshaw: Animal sanctuaries are not regulated, so there is a lack of comprehensive data on their numbers in England. The Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) which accompanied the Animal Welfare Bill, published on 14 October 2005, gave a conservative estimate of 700 sanctuaries in England and Wales based on previous consultations with animal sanctuary interests.
	There is no legal definition of an animal sanctuary. However, the term is generally taken to mean any establishment that takes in displaced, injured or unwanted animals, ranging from domestic pets to wild animals, re-homing or rehabilitating animals or providing long-term care.

Avian Influenza

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many bird deaths in quarantine have been investigated by qualified veterinary personnel since 2000; and in how many such cases avian influenza was identified as the cause of death.

Ben Bradshaw: All birds which die in quarantine must be submitted to the Veterinary Laboratory Agency for investigation for Newcastle Disease and for Avian Influenza (A.I.).
	Since 2000 no cases of A.I. have been discovered, apart from the recent case in Essex discovered on 21 October 2005.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether officials from her Department have made inspections of export facilities in endemic avian influenza H5N1 areas from which live birds are despatched to this country.

Ben Bradshaw: The Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) of the European Commission is responsible for inspecting facilities in exporting countries and ensuring they comply with Community legislation for export to the Community. Currently the Community has a ban on live bird imports from countries where High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been found.

Avian Influenza

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what basis any single batch of birds may be declared clear of Avian influenza virus H5N; what expert advice she has received on this matter; and what guidance she has promulgated.

Ben Bradshaw: Batches of birds may be released under the current rules when either samples are taken from individual birds or from sentinel birds have been tested with negative results.
	In addition, if birds have died in quarantine they must be sampled or a representative sample of the dead birds has be tested with negative results. The Local Veterinary Inspector must certify that the birds are free from signs of notifiable disease at the end of the quarantine period.
	This is in accordance with Commission Decision 2000/666/EC and Chapter 21 of VIPER the instructions to the State Veterinary Service.

Avian Influenza

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 6W, on Avian influenza, when she expects the Pollution Prevention and Control Review to be completed; and how she will publicise the location of these landfill sites.

Ben Bradshaw: The PPC Review referred to in the answer of 28 November is a review of all PPC authorised commercial landfill sites, to assess their potential suitability for the disposal of carcases in the event that the preferred disposal hierarchy of incineration and rendering capacity is exceeded.
	The review will be completed early in the new year. Defra will write to each listed landfill operator, and to each local authority in whose area the landfill is located, informing them of the listing before the list is published. This will enable the risks and mitigation measures to be explained. The list will be available on the Defra website.

Avian Influenza

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to promote the consumption of poultry this Christmas season accompanied by clear guidance that its consumption does not pose risks in regard to Avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: Advice on food safety is a matter for the Food Standards Agency. They have already issued clear advice that, on basis of current scientific evidence, Avian flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers. For people, the risk of catching the disease comes from being in close contact with live poultry that have the disease, and not through eating cooked poultry. The Agency will continue to monitor the most up-to-date information and evidence, as it becomes available and will keep an open mind as to any information that may lead to its advice being updated.
	Promotion of poultry and poultry products is of course a matter for the industry.

Avian Influenza

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the recent statement by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation concerning culling wild birds in countries affected by Avian influenza; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government is aware of this recent statement by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.
	The Wildlife and Countryside Act and Animal Health Act both permit the killing of wild birds for particular purposes, such as preventing the spread of disease. However, there are currently no plans to recommend this as a disease control strategy.
	The Government's current assessment is that the control of Avian influenza in wild bird populations is not feasible—from a logistical, environmental and biodiversity point of view.
	The Government has already put measures in place aimed at reducing the risk of introduction and spread of Avian influenza in the United Kingdom.
	It has increased levels of surveillance of wild birds, encouraged keepers to feed and water birds indoors, issued guidance on biosecurity and keeping birds separate from wild birds, banned the import of captive birds and controlled bird show and fairs.

Avian Influenza

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to ensure that quarantine facilities for cases of suspected avian influenza are properly run and maintained; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: All commercial facilities are required to comply fully with the strict procedures and processes in place to ensure facilities are run in accordance with Community legislation.
	Professor Dimmock's review is looking at procedures in general and expected to report later this month. If necessary we will take appropriate action to strengthen our quarantine arrangements.

Avian Influenza

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the (a) Turkish, (b) Romanian, (c) Russian, (d) Ukrainian, (e) Chinese and (f) European Government on avian influenza; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: I have had discussions with ministerial counterparts in the EU on a regular basis since the H5N1 strain of the virus emerged in South East Asia four years ago.
	Ministers and officials have been actively involved in discussions, and the provision of assistance, at international level on avian influenza. Recent examples have been:
	The UK presidency has provided technical support (central research laboratories (CRL) and veterinary assistance) to many countries, including Romania.
	Under the UK presidency Commission funds have been provided to enable OIE, the International Animal Health Organisation, to hold technical programmes on AI in Eastern Europe.
	As presidency, the UK delegation has represented the EU at the international partnership on avian and pandemic influenza on 7 October; and the Geneva partners' meeting on avian and human pandemic influenza on 7–9 November.

Avian Influenza

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure wild birds are prevented from entering poultry houses; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government has agreed with stakeholders and issued guidance on biosecurity for bird keepers. That guidance is on the Defra website and has been distributed very widely. It includes encouragement to keepers to minimise contact between poultry and wild birds by feeding and watering their birds indoors and maintaining buildings to ensure wild birds do not roost or nest in them. Further guidance to the industry on how to separate their birds from wild birds will issue shortly.

Avian Influenza

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what emergency preparation plans the Government has put in place for a mass cull of birds to combat an outbreak of Avian influenza; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In the event of an outbreak of highly pathogenic Avian influenza Defra would immediately invoke the Exotic Animal Disease Generic Contingency Plan". Disease control would include killing birds on the infected premises and dangerous contacts (premises likely to be contaminated by a direct link with the infected one). Several techniques are currently available for the humane killing of birds on farm, these include lethal injection, neck dislocation, percussion killers, mobile electrocution and exposure to gases.

Avian Influenza

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Government has made of the effects of an outbreak of Avian influenza; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: An Avian influenza outbreak in the UK could have a range of impacts, depending on its precise nature and scale, and bring serious consequences for the UK poultry industry and others. That is why we are doing all we can, such as working with our stakeholders, to manage the risk effectively.
	A full animal disease contingency plan is in place to tackle the outbreak of Avian influenza and reduce the impact on poultry industry and others.

Biodiesel Industry

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research the Government have commissioned into ways of developing the biodiesel industry.

Elliot Morley: The research commissioned by this Department focuses on the potential carbon savings from using biodiesel and the impacts on agriculture and the rural economy of growing oilseed rape as a biodiesel feedstock. In 2003, Sheffield Hallam university evaluated the comparative energy, environmental and socio-economic costs and benefits of biodiesel production in the UK. The Central Science Laboratory carried out two studies. The first, in 2002, looked at the prospects and potential impacts of liquid biofuels on UK agriculture, the farmed environment, landscape and rural economy. The second, in 2003, looked at industry support, cost of carbon savings and agricultural implications. Cambridge university is currently carrying out a review of the economics of energy crops, including those used for biofuels. DEFRA also commissions research supporting the sustainable development of arable crops, including oilseed rape.

Biodiversity Ministerial Group

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Inter-departmental Ministerial Group on Bio-diversity has to look at the role of UK-based companies providing financial support to illegal or ecologically unsustainable timber producers and manufacturers.

Elliot Morley: The Government are aware of the problems of support to unsustainable timber producers and manufacturers. The Department for International Development commissioned Chatham House, an independent research institute, to investigate the nature of the problem, and to identify possible options for moving forward. Their report was published in June 2005 and is available at www.illegallogging.info/papers/due_diligence_in_forestry_investment.doc. The Government are considering the content of the report.
	The Government are also working with the private sector in timber consuming and timber producing counties to develop and promote legally sourced timber products and adopt and implement good business practices and improved market transparency. This is in response to the commitments made by the UK and other G8 countries to tackle illegal logging made at the UK presidency's G8 environment and development ministerial in March 2005.
	There are no plans for the Inter-departmental Ministerial Group on Biodiversity to do additional work on this at present but it does discuss overall Government policy as it relates to global forestry.

Biomass Energy Generator (Winkleigh)

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with interested parties on the proposal for a biomass energy generator at Winkleigh in Devon; and what assistance her Department has given to the project.

Elliot Morley: Defra officials have had discussions with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Forestry Commission, the Government Office for the South West, Regen SW and Renergy Ltd. Ministers and officials have replied to correspondence from Peninsula Power and Winkleigh residents, giving advice on policy issues relevant to the project. No financial assistance has been given although farmers intending to supply energy crops to the power station will be eligible to apply for available planting grants.

Bovine TB

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the proposals are for the BCG vaccine in badgers trial planned for Gloucestershire; what the scale of the trial will be; what the timetable is for the trial; and in what area it will take place.

Ben Bradshaw: The field study for the badger vaccine will cover an area of approximately 50 km squared near Cirencester, Gloucestershire and up to 500 badgers. Preparatory work is now under way to obtain landowners' permission and plan the initial field work (surveying setts and bait-marking) which will start in early 2006. Trapping and sampling of badgers will commence in June 2006. Vaccination will be carried out in September 2006, and then annually. The study is likely to run for three years.

Bovine TB

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the incidence of bovine TB caused by cattle-to-cattle transmission was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The evidence in this area is complex. It is difficult to pinpoint sources of infection for individual herd breakdowns, particularly when infection by wildlife is a possibility, and the regional variation in the incidence of the disease complicates the overall picture. It is, therefore, not possible to put a precise figure on the number of cases of bovine TB (bTB) that can be attributed to cattle-to-cattle transmission (or to any other source of infection). It is clear, however, that cattle-to-cattle transmission is of critical importance" (Independent Scientific Group on cattle TB, 3rd report, p41) and in low bTB incidence areas there is evidence that it could be responsible for around 80 per cent. or more of cases.
	The evidence from work recently submitted for publication does suggest that cattle-to-cattle transmission is the main cause of TB spread in areas currently free, or relatively free, of cattle TB.
	But the situation is quite different in the high incidence areas of the country where 85 to 90 per cent. of all confirmed breakdowns occur. Some herds in these areas are also infected by purchased cattle, but wildlife is a major source of new herd infection and in some counties it may be a more important source than cattle.

Bovine TB

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether animals suspected of being infected by bovine tuberculosis after an initial test are permitted further tests at the animal-owner's request;
	(2)  what steps are taken to verify a suspected case of bovine tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: Approved testing procedures and standards for cattle TB are set out in EC Directive 64/432/EEC, a trade directive covering health requirements for cattle and pigs. These arrangements are incorporated in domestic legislation the Tuberculosis Order, which are under sections 32 and 34 of the Animal Health Act 1981.
	TB is confirmed by identification of visible lesions in the slaughterhouse and/or laboratory testing. Animals that react to the TB skin test are valued, removed from the farm and slaughtered. The farmer is compensated for 100 per cent. of the market value of the animal.

Bovine TB

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in England have had animals slaughtered as part of the measures to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis in each of the last three years.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of farms in England over the last three years that have had animals slaughtered to prevent the spread of bovine TB are given in the following table.
	
		Farms affected by bovine TB
		
			  Number of farms affected 
		
		
			 January-December 2002 2,876 
			 January-December 2003 3,127 
			 January-December 2004 3,109 
			 1 January-30 September 2005 2,854 
		
	
	Note:
	Provisional data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service Data Warehouse on 2 December 2005. Subject to change as more data become available.

Bovine TB

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statutory powers the Department has to take measures to prevent the spreading of bovine tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: The domestic legislation which provides for the notification of disease, compulsory testing, slaughter, valuation and compensation, and restriction of the movement of affected herds is set out in the Tuberculosis Orders made under sections 32 and 34 of the Animal Health Act 1981.

Bovine TB

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether officials investigating cases of bovine tuberculosis have the power to refer farmers to (a) trading standards officers and (b) other authorities.

Ben Bradshaw: Officials from the State Veterinary Service (SVS) will report all breaches, or suspect breaches, of the TB order to local trading standards officials. The officers are also notified of all TB herd movement restrictions that are served as a result of overdue TB tests as well as when the disease is identified.
	Officials from the SVS will notify all TB herd movement restrictions to the British Cattle Movement Service.

Bovine TB

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures her Department's officials undertake to investigate bovine tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: Detailed information on testing and control for TB in cattle is available on the Defra website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/index.htm.

Bovine TB

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in England have produced positive skin tests for bovine TB 60 days after the first test in each month since 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of farms in England that produced a positive skin test for bovine TB 60-days after the first test in each month since 2001 are given in the following five tables. All animals were subsequently slaughtered.
	
		Table 1: Data for 2001(1)(5508520002)
		
			  Number of farms 
		
		
			 January 106 
			 February 106 
			 March 0 
			 April 7 
			 May 26 
			 June 29 
			 July 41 
			 August 42 
			 September 56 
			 October 73 
			 November 68 
			 December 113 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Data for 2002(1)(5508520002)
		
			  Number of farms 
		
		
			 January 203 
			 February 269 
			 March 352 
			 April 437 
			 May 318 
			 June 204 
			 July 351 
			 August 190 
			 September 315 
			 October 201 
			 November 401 
			 December 288 
		
	
	
		Table 3: Data 2003(1)
		
			  Number of farms 
		
		
			 January 380 
			 February 397 
			 March 487 
			 April 346 
			 May 345 
			 June 406 
			 July 273 
			 August 271 
			 September 333 
			 October 209 
			 November 324 
			 December 191 
		
	
	
		Table 4: Data 2004(1)
		
			  Number of farms 
		
		
			 January 351 
			 February 295 
			 March 451 
			 April 329 
			 May 240 
			 June 289 
			 July 230 
			 August 247 
			 September 185 
			 October 245 
			 November 382 
			 December 236 
		
	
	
		Table 5: Data 2005(1)
		
			  Number of farms 
		
		
			 January 322 
			 February 317 
			 March 280 
			 April 381 
			 May 281 
			 June 210 
			 July 167 
			 August 70 
			 September 62 
			   
			 Total January 2001 to September 2005 13,664 
		
	
	Notes:
	(1)Provisional data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service Data Warehouse on 2 December 2005. Subject to change as more data becomes available.
	(2)In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. When testing resumed in 2002, resources were concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds tested immediately after the FMD outbreak was greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, data for 2001 and 2002 are not comparable with other years.

Bovine TB

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms have gone out of business (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) 12 months, (d) 24 months and (e) 36 months after being closed by her Department after a suspected case of bovine tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not collected by Defra.

Bovine TB

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at what meetings the Minister responsible for Animal Welfare discussed bovine tuberculosis in the last 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: I hold regular meetings with colleagues on a range of issues.

Carbon Dioxide

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what targets she has set for carbon dioxide reductions over the next (a) 20, (b) 30 and (c) 40 years.

Elliot Morley: The UK has two targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In 1997 the UK Government set a national goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010. The 2003 Energy White Paper also set out a longer term goal of putting the UK on a path to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by some 60 per cent. by 2050, with real progress by 2020.

Carbon Dioxide

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will reassess the 60 per cent. by 2050 target for reducing UK carbon dioxide emissions.

Elliot Morley: The 2003 Energy White Paper accepted the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's recommendation that the UK should put itself on a path towards a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of some 60 per cent. from 1990 levels by about 2050. This figure is constantly kept under review in light of emerging scientific findings including the results of the Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change conference held as part of the UK's presidency of the G8 in Exeter earlier this year.
	The Energy Review announced jointly by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 29 November will assess progress against the four goals set by the 2003 Energy White Paper including the 2050 target.

Central Heating (Leeds)

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of houses in the Leeds West constituency she estimates had no central heating in each year since 1992.

Elliot Morley: We do not currently hold this data. However, detailed information on the percentage of households without central heating in each ward of Leeds Metropolitan district is available from the 2001 census, and can be explored in depth at http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk

Cetacean By-catch

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2005, Official Report, column 1053W, what discussions she has had with the French Government regarding French fishing vessels' compliance with the European Commission Observer Programme.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 5 December 2005
	None.
	Commissioner Borg wrote to all member states on 14 November asking them to take all necessary steps to comply with the obligations of Council Regulation 812/2004, particularly those relating to monitoring of cetacean by-catch. Member states are required to report to the Commission by 1 June 2006. I anticipate they will report soon thereafter.

CFCs

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Environment Agency requests figures from recyclers on the amount of CFC recovered from recycled refrigerators. [R]

Ben Bradshaw: Licences issued by the Environment Agency require operators of refrigerator treatment and recovery facilities to provide information on the quantity of CFC's recovered.

CFCs

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of the CFC removed from a refrigerator is from (a) the insulating foam and (b) the coolant.

Ben Bradshaw: Between 25 per cent. and 33 per cent. of the CFC's removed from refrigerators is coolant and 66 per cent. to 75 per cent. is recovered from the foam.
	The variation is due to differences in numbers of damaged refrigerators being received at the treatment plants. The percentage of damaged refrigerators which have lost most or all of the coolant varies between 40 per cent. and 70 per cent..

CFCs

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many firms are accounting for all CFC gases (a) destroyed properly and (b) missing due to mishandling during the process of recycling refrigerators.

Ben Bradshaw: There are 13 firms and one local authority operating CFC recovery and disposal facilities at present. Some firms operate more than one site. Operators provide information on numbers of refrigerators received, damaged, treated, the quantity of CFCs recovered and sent for destruction or destroyed on site.

CFCs

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions her Department has pursued for releasing CFC while collecting refrigerators for recycling.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency has taken six successful prosecutions and one resulted in a jail sentence. Some prosecutions involved more than one offence.

CFCs

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost is of recycling a refrigerator (a) with and (b) without the CFC from its (i) coolant and (ii) foam insulation.

Ben Bradshaw: The cost of recycling a refrigerator is a contractual matter between local authorities and the waste management industry, and may vary from contract to contract.

Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the operation of section 27 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: Section 27 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 came into force on 7 June this year, and provides clarification that chewing gum and smoking-related materials are litter for the purposes of Part 4 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It has always been the case that Defra considered these items to be litter but the legislation now confirms this for the avoidance of any doubt among practitioners.
	Tackling these forms of litter is particularly important given the huge cost to local authorities of removing gum once it has become impacted, and the findings of the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England (LEQSE) which show that in both 2003–04 and 2004–05 smokers materials were found on 79 per cent. of the sites surveyed and so is one of the most widespread types of litter. Section 27 operates so as to encourage action to be taken by local authorities against these forms of litter through awareness-raising, public campaigns and enforcement action including the use of fixed penalty notices.

Climate Change

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the potential impact on England and Wales of changes to the Gulf Stream as a result of climate change.

Elliot Morley: Research funded by Defra at the Met Office's Hadley Centre is aimed at determining the likelihood of changes as a result of global warming to the Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation (THC), of which the Gulf Stream forms an important component.
	Although recent data collected by the Natural Environment Research Council suggest a possible recent weakening of components of the THC of up to 20 to 30 per cent., changes in the strength of the Gulf Stream itself or effects on temperatures have not been seen.
	Latest Hadley Centre modelling results indicate that a sustained slowing of the THC over a few decades could have a cooling effect of about 1C. However, warming due to greenhouse gases is likely to be greater, leading to a net warming in coming decades.
	No specific assessment has been made of the potential impacts of this scenario but it would likely mean that impacts would be reduced relative to current warming scenarios.

Climate Change

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the attribution of a carbon value to forest retention in developing countries as part of her climate change policy, with particular reference to the position she is taking on international climate change negotiations.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 1 December 2005
	Our policy is that emissions reductions from reduced deforestation should be part of developing countries' participation in climate change agreements. Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica, supported by other countries making up the Coalition of Rainforest Nations, have proposed to the 11th Conference of Parties to the United Nations framework convention on climate change which met in Montreal from 28 November to 9 December this year that reductions below a national baseline could be used as a measure of achievement. This is an interesting proposal, although significant technical issues remain, including on how baselines would in practice be defined and reductions relative to them measured. These questions need to be resolved before this or any other proposal could provide a basis for quantification of emissions saved, and hence valuation in carbon markets. Participation under the Kyoto protocol would be after the first commitment period, for which the rules are already set. We are working with other parties to establish a process to resolve the technical and related policy questions.

Climate Change

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her discussions with the US administration on climate change strategies.

Elliot Morley: Throughout 2005 we have engaged with the US administration on climate change issues. In particular, the UK's G8 presidency has succeeded in focusing US attention on energy and climate issues.

Cockle Beds (Pilling Sands)

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the plans of the North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee to re-open cockle beds at Pilling Sands before the end of this year.

Ben Bradshaw: Inshore fisheries management at Morecambe Bay, and the decision to re-open cockle beds at Pilling Sands is the responsibility of the North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee. The Committee works together with other Government Agencies to ensure appropriate regulation of cockle fishing. I will be considering whether additional provision for effective inshore fisheries management needs to be made in the Government's planned Marine Bill.

Company Operating Regulations

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list meetings between her Department and the Treasury at which the decision to remove the obligation on businesses to publish operating and financial reviews was discussed.

Elliot Morley: Discussions were held at various levels, including between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, before the decision was taken to remove the obligation on businesses to publish operating and financial reviews.

European Environmental Monitoring Programme

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department is recommending a UK contribution of a quarter of gross domestic product to the European environmental monitoring programme; and what assessment she has made of the likely impact of such a move on the UK's contribution to addressing climate change. [R]

Elliot Morley: holding answer 1 December 2005
	As policy lead on the joint European Commission and European Space Agency initiative Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES), DEFRA has considered with other Government Departments the appropriate level of UK funding for the space component of the GMES programme. At the ESA ministerial on 5–6 December, the UK subscribed €8.86 million to the programme, equating to a quarter of the UK net national income share. This subscription will allow the UK to influence the shape and management of the GMES programme so that it can, inter alia, contribute towards understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Fixed Penalty Notices

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fixed penalty notices have been issued by (a) community support officers and (b) police officers for (i) graffiti and (ii) fly-posting under paragraph 1(2)(ca) of Schedule 4 to the Police Reform Act 2002 in each of the last four years, broken down by police authority.

Ben Bradshaw: The figures collected for graffiti and fly-posting fixed penalties do not distinguish between police employees and those authorised by local authorities. The power to issue fixed penalties in relation to graffiti and fly-posting offences under paragraph 1(2)(ca) of Schedule 4 to the Police Reform Act 2002 (as amended), is provided to community support officers, but not police officers. Under the penalty notice for disorder scheme as provided for under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, police officers have the power to issue fixed penalty notices for the offence of criminal damage.

Foot and Mouth

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many confirmed foot and mouth cases (a) occurred in (i)2002, (ii) 2003 and (iii) 2004 and (b) have occurred in 2005 in each county in England and Wales.

Ben Bradshaw: None.

Foot and Mouth

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Brazil; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Competent Authority in Brazil has provided information via the European Commission on the situation with respect to recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease. This data provides information on the action Brazil is taking to control the disease.
	Following notification of the outbreaks action was taken to ban imports of meat from the affected areas, which may present a risk. This is in accordance with European Community legislation.
	All meat imported into the EU from third countries must enter at designated Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) where it is subject to veterinary inspections. All consignments are subject to documentary and identity checks and at least 20 per cent. of consignments undergo physical checks. These ensure import conditions are met and that the products remain in a satisfactory condition during transport.
	Any consignment that does not meet EU requirements, including that which may have been affected by the ban would be rejected and re-exported or destroyed.

Gas Supplies

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is her policy to relax pollution controls on coal-fired power stations in the event of a gas shortage this winter.

Ben Bradshaw: Pollution controls on coal-fired power stations—and indeed on power stations and other large industrial installations generally—are a matter for the Environment Agency and are set in authorisations issued under the integrated pollution control (IPC) system or in permits under the integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) system which is replacing IPC.
	Under these systems, the operator has to notify the Environment Agency of any change it wishes to make in the operation of the installation which has a bearing on the conditions of the authorisation or permit. It is then for the Environment Agency to consider whether and on what terms the change can be accepted, taking into account the circumstances in which the change has been proposed and their likely duration.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what further steps the Government are planning to take on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Elliot Morley: The Government are aiming to publish a revised UK Climate Change programme early next year which will set out additional policies and measures to further reduce the UK's greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2005, Official Report, columns 652–3W, on greenhouse gas emissions, if she will produce an annual report to Parliament on greenhouse gas emissions.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 7 December 2005
	As my hon. Friend, the Minister for Energy, has confirmed to the House, if Clause 2 of the Private Member's Bill Climate Change and Sustainable Energy" is amended to the effect that producing such a report would be the responsibility of the Secretary of State and the Bill then becomes law, the Secretary of State will produce annual reports to Parliament on greenhouse gas emissions.

Household Waste

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much residential household refuse was collected in each year since 1997; and what proportion of refuse was recycled in each year.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is collected through the Municipal Waste Management Survey of England and is published on the Department's website.
	The information can be found in Annex A, Table 5 at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/wastats/mwb0304/index.htm

Household Waste

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the average weight in kilograms of waste per household in each of the last 20 years.

Ben Bradshaw: The estimated amount of waste arising from households in England is shown in the following table. Figures for 1996–97 to 2003–04 are from the Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey. Earlier data are only available for the years shown and are from the CIPFA Waste Survey.
	
		
			  Kilogrammes per household per year 
		
		
			 1983–84 1,055 
			 1991–92 1,066 
			 1993–94 1,093 
			 1995–96 1,089 
			 1996–97 1,117 
			 1997–98 1,146 
			 1998–99 1,146 
			 1999–00 1,194 
			 2000–01 1,196 
			 2001–02 1,228 
			 2002–03 1,233 
			 2003–04 1,205

Media Relations

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on external media relations in each year since 2001.

Jim Knight: Since 2001 Defra's Communications Directorate has commissioned the following external media relations services:
	
		
			 Agency Project Date Cost (£) 
		
		
			 Good Relations Sustainable Food and Farming 2002 5,900 
			 Biss Lancaster Your countryside you're welcome 2002 189,366.67 
			 Red Illegal Imports 2002 121,848.93 
			 Country Porter Novelli Sustainable Development 2002 16,243 
			 Forster Company Darwin Initiative 2003 11,170 
			 Media Moguls Illegal Food Imports Campaign Phase July 2004 to March 2005 261,558.70 
			 Media Moguls Illegal Food Imports Campaign Phase 2 August 2005 to present 22,362.31 
			 Amazon Public Relations Launch of the Sustainable Development Strategy January 2005 to May 2005 55,904.84 
			 Amazon Public Relations Sustainable Development case studies August to date 18,750 
			 Weber Shandwick Climate Change October 2005 to March 2006 60,000 
		
	
	All agencies provided specialist skills and services notcurrently available within Defra's Communications Directorate.

Peninsular Power Ltd.

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what indications have been given to Peninsular Power Ltd. on her Department's likely response to applications from that company for a relaxation of the catchment radius applicable to the proposed biomass energy generator at Winkleigh in Devon under the Energy Crops scheme.

Elliot Morley: No such applications have been received and no indications have been given as to the Department's likely response. The Department has a protocol for considering such applications. This requires the views of the statutory environmental agencies to be sought before a decision is made.

Pesticides Residues

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with other EU countries on setting a maximum residue level for pesticides.

Elliot Morley: Officials of the Pesticides Safety Directorate meet regularly with the European Commission and other member states in the EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health to set maximum residue levels for pesticides.

Pesticides Residues

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the guidelines for statutory maximum residue levels for pesticides in relation to the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme.

Elliot Morley: Like food in the general supply chain, produce supplied as part of the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme must comply with the provisions of the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 (as amended).

Poultry Carcase Disposal

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria are used to determine the suitability of a potential landfill site for the disposal of poultry carcases; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The sites are being assessed against the criteria set out in the landfill protocol, originally developed for the disposal of carcases during the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak, and which is being updated as a generic protocol for the disposal of animal carcases from exotic animal disease outbreaks. Sites will be fully engineered landfills and be subject to a Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) permit and thus compliant with the strict requirements of The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 (as amended). A pre requisite for obtaining a PPC permit is compliance with the Environment Agency's policy for the protection of groundwater (PPG).
	The protocol requires the following:
	A good and robust leachate management system at the site ensuring the control of leachate head and the efficient collection, treatment and disposal of very high organic loading leachate for the next 20 years.
	The site monitoring plan demonstrate that there is adequate monitoring of groundwater, surface water and leachate and there are contingency plans in place, should the monitoring indicate a potential problem.
	That the gas management infrastructure should be planned to collect gas from the whole of the site and to be installed as soon as possible after final levels have been achieved. Combustion of the collected gas is essential.
	A bird deterrent and management plan and an odour and vermin control plan should be in place and its effectiveness reviewed and tailored as appropriate to account for the disposal of animal carcases.
	In addition to these environmental and public health criteria, which are assessed by the Environment Agency, the site will also be assessed by the State Veterinary Service for any biosecurity risk and only sites that do not pose a risk of disease spread will be used.

Private Members' Bills

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2005, Official Report, column 889W, on private Members' Bills, when the information ceased to be collected; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information requested has never been collected.

Quarantine

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why there were no birds in quarantine at Pegasus Birds between 9 March and 16 September 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 22 November 2005
	It is purely a commercial matter for the importer how often the premises are used and it is common for quarantine premises to be empty for a significant part of the year.
	The information previously available to us suggested that no consignments of birds had occupied the quarantine premises since March. It has now been established that a further set of records had been misfiled.
	Though this does not materially alter the position as previously reported, we have now been informed that the quarantine premises in question accommodated a consignment of birds from 15 July to 18 August this year. The consignment is documented as comprising approximately 2,000 birds from Tanzania. There have been no reported cases of avian influenza in Tanzania.
	The full written statement, issued on 1 December 2005, can be found at:
	http://defraweb/corporate/ministers/statements/mb051201.htm

Quarantine

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the regulation of quarantine facilities; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We are currently awaiting the outcome of an independent review of the avian quarantine system, which is expected to report in December, to see whether quarantine procedures need to be reviewed.

Quarantine

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timescale is for the review of quarantine arrangements.

Ben Bradshaw: In keeping with Defra policy to publish scientific results and the evidence base behind our decision making, my Department will be making the results of the review public later this month.

Quarantine

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations the Government have received on proposals to license quarantine facilities; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We have received none. Commission Decision 2000/666 already requires quarantine facilities or centres to be approved by the competent authorities. In England approval is carried out by the state veterinary service (SVS).
	Each approval lasts for one year and is only renewed after a satisfactory re-inspection. Approvals may be withdrawn at any time should the approval requirements of the Commission decision not be met.

Recycling

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of (a) paper-based waste and (b) potentially recyclable plastic waste was generated by (i) domestic households and (ii) commercial premises in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Figures are available for the estimated total amount of paper and plastic materials consumed within the UK and therefore likely to become waste. No reliable estimates are available on the relative amounts from household and commercial premises. Consumption is defined as UK production plus imports minus exports. The Confederation of Paper Industries estimate that the UK consumed between 12.4 and 12.9 million tonnes of paper and board in each of the last five years. The British Plastics Federation estimate that the total amount of plastics consumed within the UK in 2001 was 4.7 million tonnes and this is expected to steadily increase to 5.3 million tonnes in 2005. All plastics are potentially recyclable, but the extent to which this occurs will depend on economic and logistic factors.
	A packaging study by Valpak, the UK's largest packaging compliance scheme, has estimated that around 75 per cent. of paper packaging waste arises in the commercial and industrial waste streams and 25 per cent. originates from domestic households. Likewise, 36 per cent. of plastic packaging waste arises in the commercial and industrial waste streams and 64 per cent. comes from households.

Sheep Movement Restrictions

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what total compensation has been paid to date to United Kingdom farmers as a result of economic losses from restrictions on sheep movements.

Ben Bradshaw: It is not Government policy to compensate for economic losses as a result of animal movement restrictions to safeguard animal health.

Sites of Nature Conservation Importance

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the site of nature conservation importance designation in protecting such sites; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Sites of nature conservation importance or other similar non-statutory designations, which we refer to generically as local sites, contribute significantly to delivering both UK and local biodiversity and geodiversity action plan targets. It is understood that there are over 35,000 local sites throughout the country.
	The Government have re-affirmed the importance of the contribution such sites can make to our overall biodiversity objectives in the revised planning statement, Planning Policy Statement 9: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation" published in August this year. The planning statement states that local authorities should establish criteria-based policies in local development documents against which proposals for any development on, or affecting, such sites will be judged. These policies should be distinguished from those applied to the nationally important statutory sites.
	In the new year, we also plan to publish guidance, developed with stakeholders, on the process for identification of these sites and the operation of partnerships concerned with local sites systems.

Sites of Nature Conservation Importance

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice her Department has received from English Nature regarding sites of nature conservation importance and similar conservation designations.

Jim Knight: In consultation with stakeholders, my officials and English Nature have been drawing up good practice guidance on the process for identification of sites of nature conservation importance, which along with similar terms, we refer to generically as local sites. The guidance will also offer advice on the operation of partnerships concerned with administering local sites systems.

Sites of Nature Conservation Importance

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is permissible for a local authority to rescind site of nature conservation importance status as a result of ecological degradation caused by the action or neglect of the owner or tenants of the protected site.

Jim Knight: Sites of nature conservation importance form part of the group of non-statutory designations generically referred to as local sites, and may be de-selected if their nature conservation interest deteriorates to such an extent that they no longer qualify as local sites. Government guidance on local sites, which will be produced in the new year, will suggest that where a site has degraded, the potential for restoring the site's features of interest should be a consideration in determining whether a site should be de-selected.

Sites of Nature Conservation Importance

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill will strengthen the protection provided by (a) site of nature conservation importance and (b) similar designations; and whether the Government have further plans to strengthen such protection.

Jim Knight: There are no specific measures in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill concerning sites of nature conservation importance or other similar non-statutory designations which we refer to generically as local sites. However, Natural England will have a broad purpose and range of powers relating to conservation of the natural environment, including a power to enter into management agreements with any person on any land if it would further its general purpose.
	The Government have re-affirmed the importance of the contribution such sites can make to our overall biodiversity objectives in the revised planning statement: Planning Policy Statement 9: Biodiversity and Geological Conservation' published in August this year.
	In the new year, we also plan to publish guidance, developed with stakeholders, on the process for identification of such sites and the operation of partnerships concerned with local sites systems.

Sites of Nature Conservation Importance

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition requirements take into account Site of Nature Conservation Importance status.

Jim Knight: Land managers claiming the single payment are obliged to meet the relevant Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and to maintain their land in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC). The SMR and GAEC standards do not contain specific standards relating to the non-statutory Sites of Nature Conservation Importance. However the overall range of measures, especially those designed to achieve soil management and protection, and maintenance of habitats and landscape features, are expected to contribute to the conservation of interests within Site of Nature Conservation Importance.

Waste Management

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is for (a) each borough in Essex and (b) each London borough of the proportion of (i) household and (ii)industrial waste that was (A) recycled, (B) disposed of by incineration and (C) disposed of by landfill in each of the past five years.

Ben Bradshaw: Data on the disposal of municipal waste are collected through the Municipal Waste Management Survey for England. The disposal of household waste is not disaggregated from municipal waste, however as household waste is the major constituent of municipal waste (comprising around 87 per cent. of all municipal waste), data for the disposal of municipal waste are a good approximation to household waste. The proportion of municipal waste by disposal route for the most recent five years, is in table 1. Data are presented for each waste disposal authority and unitary authority in Essex and London, which is the lowest level of detail available.
	Data for the disposal of industrial waste are available for Government office regions only, and these are presented in table 2. Data are available for 1998–99 and 2002–03. Industrial waste is defined as waste from manufacturing, and oil, gas electricity and water supply sectors, but the data for 1998–99 also include waste from the transport, storage and communications sectors, and from hospitals. The data for the two years are therefore not directly comparable.
	
		Table 1 -- Percentage
		
			1999–2000 
			 Government office region LA name LA type Recycled and reused Landfilled Incinerated 
		
		
			 Eastern Thurrock Council U 10 90 — 
			 Eastern Southend-on-Sea BC U 17 83 0 
			 Eastern Essex County Council D 17 83 — 
			 London Bexley LB U 19 34 47 
			 London Tower Hamlets LB U 3 97 0 
			 London London Corporation U 1 99 — 
			 London Westminster City Council U 4 42 54 
			 London East London Waste Authority D 4 87 9 
			 London North London Waste Authority D 7 45 49 
			 London Southwark LB U 3 93 5 
			 London Lewisham LB U 4 3 94 
			 London Greenwich LB U 6 39 55 
			 London Sutton LB U 26 74 — 
			 London Merton LB U 12 88 — 
			 London Kingston-upon-Thames LB U 16 84 — 
			 London Croydon LB U 9 89 2 
			 London Bromley LB U 11 89 0 
			 London West London Waste Authority D 9 91 0 
			 London Western Riverside Waste Authority D 8 92 — 
		
	
	
		
			2000–01 
			 Government office region LA name LA type Recycled and reused Landfilled Incinerated 
		
		
			 Eastern Thurrock Council U 16 84 — 
			 Eastern Southend-on-Sea BC U 22 78 0 
			 Eastern Essex County Council D 21 79 — 
			 London Bexley LB U 19 42 41 
			 London Tower Hamlets LB U 2 98 0 
			 London London Corporation U 2 98 — 
			 London Westminster City Council U 4 41 54 
			 London East London Waste Authority D 5 86 10 
			 London North London Waste Authority D 9 41 51 
			 London Southwark LB U 2 83 15 
			 London Lewisham LB U 4 12 84 
			 London Greenwich LB U 5 21 73 
			 London Sutton LB U 22 78 — 
			 London Merton LB U 14 86 — 
			 London Kingston-upon-Thames LB U 16 84 — 
			 London Croydon LB U 10 90 0 
			 London Bromley LB U 12 88 — 
			 London West London Waste Authority D 9 91 0 
			 London Western Riverside Waste Authority D 7 93 — 
		
	
	
		
			2001–02 
			 Government office region LA name LA type Recycled and reused Landfilled Incinerated 
		
		
			 Eastern Thurrock Council U 19 81 — 
			 Eastern Southend-on-Sea BC U 20 80 0 
			 Eastern Essex County Council D 23 77 — 
			 London Bexley LB U 18 62 19 
			 London Tower Hamlets LB U 2 98 0 
			 London London Corporation U 1 99 — 
			 London Westminster City Council U 5 40 55 
			 London East London Waste Authority D 5 84 11 
			 London North London Waste Authority D 7 49 44 
			 London Southwark LB U 3 69 28 
			 London Lewisham LB U 6 14 80 
			 London Greenwich LB U 6 38 56 
			 London Sutton LB U 15 85 — 
			 London Merton LB U 12 87 1 
			 London Kingston-upon-Thames LB U 16 84 — 
			 London Croydon LB U 9 91 0 
			 London Bromley LB U 12 87 1 
			 London West London Waste Authority D 10 90 0 
			 London Western Riverside Waste Authority D 8 92 0 
		
	
	
		
			2002–03 
			 Government office region LA name LA type Recycled and reused Landfilled Incinerated 
		
		
			 Eastern Thurrock Council U 17 83 — 
			 Eastern Southend-on-Sea BC U 22 78 0 
			 Eastern Essex County Council D 25 75 — 
			 London Bexley LB U 20 77 3 
			 London Tower Hamlets LB U 3 97 0 
			 London London Corporation U 1 99 0 
			 London Westminster City Council U 5 35 60 
			 London East London Waste Authority D 5 87 8 
			 London North London Waste Authority D 9 48 44 
			 London Southwark LB U 4 71 25 
			 London Lewisham LB U 7 8 85 
			 London Greenwich LB U 7 19 74 
			 London Sutton LB U 18 82 — 
			 London Merton LB U 12 88 0 
			 London Kingston-upon-Thames LB U 16 84 — 
			 London Croydon LB U 13 87 0 
			 London Bromley LB U 13 65 22 
			 London West London Waste Authority D 12 88 0 
			 London Western Riverside Waste Authority D 8 91 1 
		
	
	
		
			2003–04 
			 Government office region LA name LA type Recycled and reused Landfilled Incinerated 
		
		
			 Eastern Thurrock Council U 15 85 — 
			 Eastern Southend-on-Sea BC U 22 78 0 
			 Eastern Essex County Council D 26 74 — 
			 London Bexley LB U 20 72 7 
			 London Tower Hamlets LB U 4 96 — 
			 London London Corporation U 1 99 — 
			 London Westminster City Council U 6 33 61 
			 London East London Waste Authority D 7 85 7 
			 London North London Waste Authority D 11 48 41 
			 London Southwark LB U 7 70 23 
			 London Lewisham LB U 7 19 74 
			 London Greenwich LB U 10 26 63 
			 London Sutton LB U 26 74 — 
			 London Merton LB U 12 88 0 
			 London Kingston-upon-Thames LB U 19 81 — 
			 London Croydon LB U 13 86 0 
			 London Bromley LB U 17 58 25 
			 London West London Waste Authority D 14 86 0 
			 London Western Riverside Waste Authority D 11 89 0 
		
	
	Source:
	DEFRA Municipal Waste Management Survey
	
		Table 2 -- Percentage
		
			  1998–99 2002–03 
			 Industrial waste Landfilled Recycled and reused Incinerated Landfilled Recycled and reused Incinerated 
		
		
			 East of England 47 36 2 30 50 5 
			 London 41 40 3 30 61 4 
		
	
	Source:
	Environment Agency Survey of Commercial and Industrial Waste

Waste Management

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to develop a quality protocol for certified compost material to enable it to be defined as a product rather than waste.

Ben Bradshaw: The definition of waste in force in the United Kingdom is the definition in Article 1(a) of the Waste Framework Directive (as amended). Whether or not a substance is discarded as waste, and when waste ceases to be waste, are matters which must be determined on the facts of the case and the interpretation of the law is a matter for the courts. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued several judgments on the definition of waste which are binding on member states and their competent authorities". The composting of waste is classified as a waste recovery operation under the Directive. This means that composting must be carried out under the terms of a waste management licence issued by, or a waste management licensing exemption registered with, the Environment Agency (England and Wales).
	The ECJ has ruled that
	..whether [a substance] is waste, must be determined in the light of all the circumstances, regard being had to the aim of the Directive and the need to ensure that its effectiveness is not undermined."
	In practice, this means that waste does not cease to be waste until it has undergone a complete recovery operation and has been fully recovered within the meaning of the directive. A complete recovery operation is one which has the effect of transforming waste into a product which is wholly interchangeable with another product and requires no additional regulation or supervision beyond that applicable to the product which it is replacing. Waste has not undergone a complete recovery operation if, after the operation has been carried out, it continues to present a danger typical of waste (e.g. it continues to be contaminated).
	The Environment Agency considers that (a) source-segregated waste which, after composting, meets a recognised and suitable quality standard (e.g. BSI PAS 100) is likely to be fully recovered within the meaning of the directive; and (b) mixed waste which is composted is likely to remain waste until it is used in a further recovery operation (e.g. land treatment resulting in agricultural benefit or ecological improvement subject to control by the Agency under a licence or registered licensing exemption). These considerations are being taken into account in work currently being undertaken by the Environment Agency and the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on the development of a quality protocol for waste composting.
	The Department supports the development of such protocols at national level and advocates their development at a European Union level. A key objective of our doing so is to enable our competent authorities, and those engaged in the recovery of waste, to determine with a high degree of certainty the point at which waste has been fully recovered for the purposes of the Waste Framework Directive and has ceased to be waste. This was reflected in the UK's response of 15 February 2005 to the European Commission's questionnaire on possible amendments to the directive linked to the Thematic Strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste. In its response, the UK identified municipal/household waste which is recovered by means of composting or other biological transformation processes as a priority waste stream in this context. TheUK's response is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/thematicstrat/questionnaire-ukresponse.pdf

Water Quality/Supplies

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the quality of the water supply in Tamworth.

Elliot Morley: Tamworth constituency is situated in the centre of the Glascote water supply zone of South Staffordshire Water plc. I am advised by the independent Drinking Water Inspectorate that all of the 1,384 tests carried out by the water company in this zone in 2005 have met the strict European drinking water standards.
	The water supply to Tamworth is artificially fluoridated and there have been no breaches of the health based standard for fluoride of 1.5 mg/l in 2005.
	Although unrelated to the quality of the drinking water supply, there has been recent local concern about the Glascote service reservoir which stores treated water. A nearby residential property is the subject of flooding and, as a consequence, the structural integrity of the reservoir was questioned. South Staffordshire Water plc have inspected and tested the reservoir and there is no evidence of leakage or damage. The flooding problem at the property is now being dealt with by Tamworth borough council.

Water

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with water companies on their ability to protect vulnerable individuals in the event of a breakdown in water supplies; and if she will publish (a) the protocol for identifying such individuals and (b) guidance on how support will be provided to them.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, issued a Security and Emergency Measures Direction in 1998 which sets requirements on water companies in relation to emergency planning and in dealing with water emergencies. In the event of a failure of the piped water supply, water companies are required to give priority to the domestic needs of the sick, the elderly, the disabled, hospitals, schools and other vulnerable sectors of the population. The minimum amount of water to be provided to all domestic customers when such a failure occurs is 10 litres per head per day. Those vulnerable customers who are housebound will be provided with supplies of bottled water. Water companies maintain a list of their vulnerable customers based on information provided by the customers, and in liaison with local authorities, health agencies and other support bodies.

TRANSPORT

A120

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of constructing a new tunnel or bridge to cross the Braintree to Liverpool Street railway line for the proposed southern route of the A120.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency has included an estimated cost of £2 million in the A120 scheme proposals for the crossing of the Braintree to Liverpool Street railway. That cost will be reviewed as the scheme develops.

A120

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of the new crossing over the River Brain required by the A120 proposed southern route.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency has included an estimated cost of £500,000 in the A120 scheme proposals for the bridge crossing the River Brain. That cost will be reviewed as the scheme design is developed.

A120

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether an assessment has been made of the likely impact on the A120 Proposed Southern Route of the additional heavy goods vehicle movements which are expected under plans to build a waste disposal plant on Rivenhall airfield.

Stephen Ladyman: No information on the waste disposal plant was available at the time the public consultation took place on the A120 Braintree to Marks Tey Improvement scheme. A proposal was submitted by developers in August 2005 after the public consultation period had ended.
	Drawings for the proposed development show a junction with the Proposed Southern Route. The Highways Agency has responded to Essex county council, rejecting such a proposal.

A120

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the public consultation on the expansion of the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey complied with the Cabinet Office's code of practice on consultation in relation to the (a) necessary publicity within affected areas, (b) location of consultation exhibitions and (c) publication and distribution of consultation documents.

Stephen Ladyman: The Cabinet Office code of practice on written consultations applies to national consultations. The public consultation for the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey was local. However, the code of practice advises that the criteria should be applied wherever possible to local consultation.
	The Highways Agency applied the principles of the code to its recent public consultation on route options for the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey in relation to publicity, location of exhibitions and publication and distribution of consultation documents.

A120

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what account was taken of the construction costs of the new crossings required by the A120 proposed southern route when judging whether the scheme achieved best value.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency has included an estimate cost of £24 million for these crossings in the A120 scheme proposals.
	These costs were used in the economic assessment of the options taken to public consultation.

A120

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the costs of the effect on railway services between Braintree and London Liverpool Street of the construction of a crossing for the proposed A120 southern route.

Stephen Ladyman: No estimate of the cost for the effects on rail users of providing a crossing has yet been prepared.
	Should a railway crossing be required, any work to provide a crossing of the railway line would be taken forward in discussion with Network Rail with the aim of minimising disruption to the railway and passengers.

A120

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the costs were of (a) stabilising and (b) rerouting electricity lines included in the total project budget for the A120 proposed southern route.

Stephen Ladyman: A preliminary estimate of £180,000 including VAT at present day prices has been obtained from EDF for the cost of stabilising and rerouting of electricity lines for the proposed A120 southern route. Major national grid power lines are to be avoided.

Airport Designation

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he expects (a) Luton, (b) London City, (c) Liverpool and (d) East Midlands airport to be designated under section 25 of the Aviation Security Act 1982 in the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: On 21 November the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the Government would shortly commence an independent review of policing at airports. It will be a wide ranging review that it is expected will make recommendations by spring 2006. Until the review has been completed, it would not be appropriate to consider e designation of any additional airports.

Airport Security

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 558W, on airports (security costs), 
	(1)  how much each named airport has paid in policing costs for each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the policing costs were at (a) Luton, (b) Liverpool, (c) London City and (d) East Midlands airport in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The costs of policing at non-designated airports such as those at Luton, Liverpool, London City and East Midlands is a matter for the local chief constable and the police authority, as the aerodrome manager is not obliged under section 25 of the Aviation Security Act 1982 to make a contribution. If the aerodrome manager has entered into a voluntary funding agreement with the chief constable, that is a commercial decision and not a matter to which the Secretary of State is a party.
	The costs of policing at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Prestwick, all of which are designated airports, are a matter for agreement between the aerodrome manager and the relevant police authority. Only if the aerodrome manager or the police authority ask the Secretary of State to make a determination under s26(3) of the Aviation Security Act 1982 does the matter of costs become a matter for the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State announced on 21 November 2005 that amendments to these provisions will be tabled in the Civil Aviation Bill which is currently being considered in another place.

Airport Security

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the introduction of new security measures at North American airports for passengers travelling from the UK.

Karen Buck: holding answer 8 December 2005
	Responsibility for security measures at US airports rests with the US Government. As at airports in the UK and elsewhere, such measures typically evolve over time, and changes sometimes prompt representations to the Department.

Airport Security

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the transportation security administration regarding the screening of baggage for passengers travelling from theUK.

Karen Buck: holding 8 December 2005
	Responsibility for security screening at airports in the USA rests withthe US Government, with whom we maintain a continuing dialogue across the full range of aviation security matters, including baggage screening.

Braintree Bypass

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what was the (a) total construction cost and (b) cost per mile of the dual carriageway Braintree bypass in 1989; and if he will express those costs at present day prices;
	(2)  what was the construction cost of the (a) crossing of the London to Liverpool Street railway line and (b) crossing of the River Brain required by the Braintree bypass in 1989; and if he will express those costs at present day prices.

Stephen Ladyman: These roads were constructed by Essex county council as local highway authority.

Coastguards

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make long service medals available to professional coastguards.

Stephen Ladyman: There are currently no plans to recommend a change. The intention of the Coastguard Auxiliary Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is to reward long and faithful service by volunteers.

Consultants

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list departmental projects conducted by consultants in each year since 2000; what the cost was in each case; and what the total cost of employing consultants was in each year.

Karen Buck: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 7 December 2005, Official Report, column 1315W, given to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake).

Departmental Expenditure

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Department and its agencies have spent on (a) the design and production of new logos and (b) employing external (i) public relations and (ii) graphic design agencies in each year since 2000, broken down by project.

Karen Buck: For details of how much the Department for Transport spent on design and production of new logos since 2000, I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 25 October 2005, Official Report, column 236W, which details the cost of branding. Separating out the individual costs of design and production of new logos could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	For details of expenditure on employing external public relations, I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) on 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 146W, which details the spend on external media relations since the Department for Transport formed in 2002–03.
	The provision of the remaining information requested—the costs of external media relations and expenditure on graphic design agencies by project—could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Research

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research projects commissioned by his Department are being undertaken; and what the publication arrangements are in each case.

Karen Buck: Details of research contracts awarded by DfT(c) are posted on the DfT website and are accessible, through the research database, at http://www.rmd.dft.gov.uk/. Publication arrangements are as shown under the science class of the DfT Publication Scheme (see extract at end). While delivery mechanisms may vary in Highways Agency and Maritime and Coastguard Agency, both agencies have adopted arrangements based on similar principles to the DfT(c) .

DVLA

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 562W, on the DVLA, what percentage of complaints were subsequently reopened after the substantive response had been despatched in each year from 1997–98 to 2004–05.

Stephen Ladyman: DVLA does not keep statistics on the number of complaints that have been subsequently reopened following a substantive response.

Early Retirement

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of his Department's employees have taken early retirement in each year since1997.

Karen Buck: The Department was created on 29 May 2002 and the numbers of employees who have taken early retirement in each year since then are shown in the table:
	
		
			  Number of employees 
		
		
			 2002 57 
			 2003 50 
			 2004 105 
		
	
	The figures include those who have retired voluntarilywith an actuarially reduced pension, those who have retired with benefits under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme and those who have retired on ill-health grounds.

Forest of Dean

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on public transport services in the Forest of Dean.

Karen Buck: It is for Gloucestershire county council, the local transport authority, in consultation with members of the community, key stakeholders and partners (including Forest of Dean district council), to determine local transport priorities and the provision of services.
	Transport priorities are brought forward to Ministers through the Local Transport Plan process and my officials are currently assisting the local authority in the development of the second Local Transport Plan for Gloucestershire county council. During the first round of Local Transport Plans funding for the area increased from £15.78 million in 2000–01 to £17.49million in 2005–06.
	I understand that Gloucestershire county council already commits £1.6 million of its budget and disburses £1.1 million of Rural Bus Subsidy Grant from central Government to ensure the operation of bus services. Within the last year, bus patronage in the area has increased between 2 and 30 per cent. (and up to 50 per cent. on one route). The network of services in the Forest of Dean now carries substantially higher numbers of passengers at a lower subsidy cost.
	I welcome these improvements and look forward to working with the authority as they build on their public transport strategy in their second Local Transport Plan.

Free Off-peak Bus Travel

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pensioners in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley will qualify for free off-peak local bus travel.

Karen Buck: The number of residents aged 60 or over who will qualify for free off-peak local bus travel from April 2006 are:
	(a) Lancashire: 256,700
	(b) Chorley: 20,800

Highways Agency

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria the Highways Agency uses when assessing the impact of transport schemes on (a) commercial and (b) residential property; and what weighting is given to (i) the preservation of established residential properties and (ii) recent commercial developments.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency when assessing the impact of transport schemes takes into account both the natural and human environments. This includes consideration of the impacts schemes may have on both residential and commercial properties. The Agency makes every effort to avoid the majority of properties within a given area, in order to reduce the potential impacts of new routes on local towns and villages. However, it is not always possible to find a perfect solution.
	The detailed appraisal of transport schemes is undertaken in accordance with the Department for Transport's web-based transport analysis guidance (WebTAG; http://www.webtag.org.uk). The guidance does not provide weighting which distinguishes between established residential property and commercial developments.

Highways Agency

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines he has issued to the Highways Agency on timely response to statements of objection which arise from public consultations; and what upper limit for an acceptable response time he has set.

Stephen Ladyman: All statements received by the Highways Agency in response to public consultations are logged and assessed. All responses which require a reply are dealt with within 15 working days, either by a full or an interim reply. Where an interim reply is sent, this is followed up by a more detailed reply when information has been gathered.
	All comments are summarised in a public consultation report which forms part of the decision process that identifies a preferred route.

Lamberhurst Bypass

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding schemes the Government have used to pay for the Lamberhurst bypass in East Sussex; and how much money was used in each scheme.

Stephen Ladyman: The Lamberhurst bypass was fundedentirely by the Government's 10-year targeted programme of improvements (TPI). The estimated final cost of the scheme is £25.24 million.
	The scheme was funded from the Highways Agency budget, which is part of the Department for Transport's voted expenditure.

M2

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answers of 28 November 2005, Official Report, columns 145–46W, on the M2, when he expects (a) the roadworks on the M2 between junctions 5 and 6 to be completed and (b) all lanes on both carriageways of the motorway between junctions 5 and 6 to reopen.

Stephen Ladyman: Due to adverse weather conditions, including fog, frost and rain, the resurfacing work on the M2 between junctions 5 and 6 was delayed. Completion is now expected on 16 December 2005 when all traffic management will be removed and both carriageways of the motorway will be open to traffic.

M5

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will conduct an evaluation of traffic flows at Junction 7 of the M5, with particular reference to (a) queuing on the slip road on the northbound carriageway and (b) related use of the Southern Link Road.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency will evaluate traffic flows at this junction. This will also include an assessment of movements to and from the Southern Link Road. Worcestershire county council are responsible for the Link Road.

Quiet Lanes

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department plans to publish regulations for local authorities on the designation of quiet lanes before 20 December 2005.

Karen Buck: The Department for Transport is currently finalising the work on the draft regulations and intends to publish them soon. But publication will not occur before 20 December.

Railways

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on developing passenger services on the Coventry-Nuneaton railway line; and what recent discussions he has had with Coventry city council on this.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 7 December 2005
	The train service between Coventry and Nuneaton was restored in May 2005. Local authorities including Coventry city council have met with the Strategic Rail Authority to discuss their aspirations for longer term transport developments over the Coventry-Nuneaton corridor. My Department has not had any recent discussion with Coventry city council on this.

Railways

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage in-house maintenance on the railways.

Derek Twigg: This is an operational matter for Network Rail, which completed its programme to take all infrastructure maintenance in-house on 24 July 2004.

Railways

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) capital and (b) revenue subsidy per passenger mile travelled was to bus companies by transport authorities in England for the most recent year for which information is available.

Karen Buck: holding answer 6 December 2005
	In 2004–05 English local transport authorities, including Transport for London, spent a total of £854 million on revenue support for bus services, excluding re-imbursement to operators of the costs of providing concessionary fares. In that year there were 4,032 million passenger journeys made on all local bus services implying an overall average revenue subsidy of about 21p per journey. However, outside London only slightly over 20 per cent. of the local bus network receives revenue subsidy. Separate data on passenger numbers on these subsidised services is not collected by the Department so it is not possible to calculate average subsidy costs per journey for subsidised services outside London.
	In 2004–05 local transport authorities, again including Transport for London, spent a total of £285 million on capital projects primarily to improve bus-related infrastructure and traffic management schemes to improve facilities for both commercial and subsidised bus services.

Road Schemes

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria are used in balancing the needs of local communities affected by road schemes with wider strategic objectives.

Stephen Ladyman: Under our appraisal criteria the impact of road schemes on local areas and communities is assessed very carefully, in particular impacts on noise, local air quality, townscape, landscape, biodiversity, safety, severance and land-use policy.
	These impacts are judged alongside a scheme's costs and economic benefits, in particular, from reduced congestion, time savings to travellers and wider economic benefits in reaching an overall assessment of its justification.

Rochdale/Oldham Loop Line

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on the Rochdale/Oldham loop line in the last eight years; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Network Rail is responsible for operating, maintaining and renewing the main rail network, including the Oldham loop line. I have therefore asked them to reply directly to the hon. Member.

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what training is given to (a) policy officials and (b) lawyers in his Department responsible for drafting statutory instruments; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: Statutory instruments are drafted by departmental lawyers based on instructions from policy divisions. Where instruments amend primary legislation, Parliamentary Counsel are consulted.
	As members of the Government Legal Service (GLS), departmental lawyers receive extensive training in the preparation and drafting of statutory instruments. This consists of a combination of lectures and practical exercises run by experienced practitioners in the GLS, coupled with training given by legal advisers who advise the parliamentary scrutiny committees. In addition, senior managers in the GLS take a close interest in the quality of statutory instruments and provide frequent feedback and on-the-job training to those with lead responsibility for drafting. This is an on-going process and part of the continuing education of government legal advisers.

Transport (Financial Support)

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the financial support provided by (a) by central Government, (b) via local government and (c) via passenger transport authorities in England for (i) local bus services, (ii) local bus service infrastructure, (iii) rail services, (iv) rail infrastructure, (v) air services and (vi) aviation infrastructure in each year between 1995–96 and 2004–05.

Karen Buck: holding answer 1 December 2005
	The following table provides the information held centrally. The Department for Transport was formed in 2002.
	Support for rail infrastructure is made through directcapital grants to Network Rail and London and Continental Railways.
	Central Government support for aviation is in the form of research and development, international subscriptions, support for Royal Travel and loans to National Air Traffic Services. Direct support is not provided for air services or aviation infrastructure.
	
		Financial support provided by the Department for Transport -- £ million
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Local bus services(3)
			 Central Government 332 350 359 
			 Local government 436 461 470 
			 Passenger transport authorities 742 876 853 
			 Rail Services(4)
			 Central Government 935 1,359 878 
			 Passenger transport authorities 218 214 134 
			 Rail infrastructure
			 Central Government(5) 1,166 1,670 2,058 
		
	
	(3)Includes support for local bus service infrastructure.
	(4)Source: National Rail Trends.
	(5)Includes capital grant to London and Continental Railways for 2003–03 and 2003–04.

Trunk Road Schemes

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trunk road schemes are experiencing cost overruns; what action he is taking to tackle such overruns; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Of the 29 conventionally funded schemes formerly in the targeted programme of improvements (TPI), that have opened over the last four years, 16 are forecast to cost more than provided for, and 13 are forecast to cost less. The total cost of those schemes is estimated at £888 million, some £12 million less than programmed.
	When faced with potential cost overruns, the Agency's approach is to work with the supply chain to drive down costs of construction.
	Where that is not possible, cost increases are met from a Strategic Reserve contained within the risk allowance for the TPI. Where cost savings are made, these are fed back into the Strategic Reserve.

UK Air Passengers

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what average number of flights was taken by UK passengers (a) in 1997 and (b) in the latest year forwhich figures are available, broken down by social class.

Karen Buck: The results by socio-economic classification for 2003 are given as follows. Respondents in managerial/professional occupations had a higher mean number of air trips than those in lower occupational categories.
	This data was not collected in 1997.
	
		How many air trips in last year?
		
			  Mean no flights (based on all) Base number Mean (among those who had flown in last year) Base number (all those who had flown in last year) 
		
		
			 Managerial and professional occupations (6)3.6 417 5.3 277 
			 Intermediate occupations 1.6 212 2.8 109 
			 Routine and manual occupations 1.6 491 3.2 214 
			 Never worked/long-term unemployed (7)— 33 (7)— 7 
			 All 2.3 1,153 4.1 608 
		
	
	(6)Figures are significantly different to the national average at the 5 per cent. level.
	(7)Sample size too small for reliable estimates.
	Source:
	2003 British Social Attitudes Survey

Vehicle Certification Agency

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what bonuses the Chief Executive of the Vehicle Certification Agency has received since his appointment; and for what reasons in each case.

Karen Buck: The Chief Executive of the Vehicle Certification Agency has received one bonus since his appointment. It was performance related and part of his 2005 pay award as a senior civil servant.

Vehicle Certification Agency

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the Vehicle Certification Agency is involved in the work of the management systems certification.

Stephen Ladyman: VCA, as the UK vehicle type approval authority, has the responsibility to test and certify vehicles and components to a range of EU Directives and ECE regulations. Part of that certification requires that VCA verifies the conformity of production" arrangements of the manufacturer to ensure production vehicles and components continue to meet the standards. This is done through an audit of the manufacturer's quality management systems. With the introduction of ISO 9000—quality management systems—manufacturers requested VCA to extend the auditing service to include the issue of certificates. Therefore VCA became accredited by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) to enable it to issue recognised certificates and be able to offer automotive related organisations management systems certification services on a commercial basis.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Commercial Ventures

Martin Horwood: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the House of Commons Commission will expand the number of commercial ventures in the House of Commons part of the parliamentary estate to include (a) a newsagent, (b) a bookshop, (c) a bank, (d) a laundrette and dry cleaners, (e) a pharmacy, (f) a stationers and (g) an Indian restaurant; and if the Commission will make an assessment of the contribution to public funds such services might make.

Nick Harvey: The House carries out a number of activities which have a commercial element, but which are predominantly aimed at providing services to Members and others on the parliamentary estate rather than having an outright profit objective. These include a wide range of catering venues and services including one which offers a curry each day; souvenirs; Post Office counters; a hairdresser; a florist; the parliamentary bookshop; a business travel agency; and the Westminster gymnasium. There are also smaller installations including ATMs and various vending machines. In addition, the House leases out external parts of the estate for specific retail activities; these include a retail chemist and pharmacy, a food retailer, a cafe, a dry cleaners and a public house. The House gets a normal market return on these leases. Newspapers are available for Members to read at a number of locations on the estate, and books, periodicals and videos are available from the Library.
	There are no current plans to extend the House's commercial activities.

Telephone Lines

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many telephone lines are installed in each building in the House of Commons estate; how many of those lines are live; which companies the live lines are with; what the call charges are under the current contract; when the contract is up for renewal; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: Telephony on the parliamentary estate is provided by the Parliamentary Communications Directorate using a network of seven linked switches. There are currently 5,714 live lines on the 020 7219 xxxx range installed throughout the House of Commons as shown in the table:
	
		
			 Building Extensions in use 
		
		
			 1 Derby Gate 232 
			 1 Canon Row 182 
			 1 Parliament Street 295 
			 2 Abbey Gardens 45 
			 4 and 7 Millbank 1,007 
			 Norman Shaw North 622 
			 Norman Shaw South 272 
			 Portcullis House 1,031 
			 Palace of Westminster (Commons) 2,028 
			 Total Commons 5,714 
		
	
	There are also 50 BT direct exchange lines at various locations throughout the estate and a further 208 mobile extension lines are allocated to House staff.
	All incoming calls come via BT. Circuits installed with four suppliers BT, Cable & Wireless, Colt and O2 take outgoing calls depending on the destination of the call, the time of day and the tariffs available. These services are supplied under rolling contracts and the tariffs are regularly reviewed. The routing was adjusted earlier this year to take advantage of reduced tariffs.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Asian Tsunami

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money the Government allocated to assist the victims of the tsunami in south east Asia; and how much of that money has been disbursed, broken down by recipient country.

Gareth Thomas: When the tsunami struck last December, the Government immediately allocated £75 million for relief and recovery needs. Nearly £67 million of this has been programmed through United Nations agencies, the Red Cross Movement and non-governmental organisations and DFID direct action. Of this figure, all but approximately £800,000 has been disbursed and this is earmarked to cover costs already incurred, and ongoing costs such as secondments of experts to United Nations agencies. Up to £7.5 million has been earmarked for disaster risk reduction initiatives in affected countries. This allocation will be disbursed, against agreed programme activities into 2006. It is now likely that the remaining £500,000 of the £75 million allocated is not required for relief and recovery activities.
	DFID has allocated £65 million to meet reconstruction needs in tsunami-affected areas. A total of £41 million of this has been committed. In Indonesia, we have so far programmed £34.3 million, including two contributions to the Multi Donor Trust Fund of £5.6 million and £20 million. A further £5 million has been committed for technical assistance to help ensure timely, accountable and equitable provision of reconstruction assistance and rebuilding of livelihoods. A total of £2.8 million has been committed to Sri Lanka, and to date £1.5 million of this has been programmed to support the capacity of the North East Provincial Council (NEPC) to plan and implement programmes and services. A total of £3 million has been committed to India to support the United Nations Recovery Framework for Post Tsunami Rehabilitation and Reconstruction. The remaining £24 million of the £65 million allocation for reconstruction has not yet been committed.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department directed to each British Overseas Territory in each of the last seven years.

Gareth Thomas: DFID expenditure for the Overseas Territories for each of the financial years from 1998–99 to 2004–05 is set out in the table. A number of territories, for example Montserrat and St. Helena, still need significant levels of support to help meet basic needs and promote growth and, in the case of Pitcairn, a need now for budgetary aid to cover essential recurrent expenditure. Declining levels of support, for example in Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, follow increased prosperity and economic growth.
	
		£000
		
			  Programme expenditure 
		
		
			 Anguilla  
			 1998–99 1,977 
			 1999–2000 2,058 
			 2000–01 2,234 
			 2001–02 1,847 
			 2002–03 1,044 
			 2003–04 954 
			 2004–05 1,216 
			 Bermuda  
			 1998–99 — 
			 1999–2000 13 
			 2000–01 4 
			 2001–02 — 
			 2002–03 — 
			 2003–04 — 
			 2004–05 — 
			 British Virgin Islands  
			 1998–99 622 
			 1999–2000 517 
			 2000–01 186 
			 2001–02 83 
			 2002–03 90 
			 2003–04 11 
			 2004–05 — 
			 Cayman Islands  
			 1998–99 23 
			 1999–2000 18 
			 2000–01 20 
			 2001–02 3 
			 2002–03 — 
			 2003–04 — 
			 2004–05 (8)250 
			 Falkland Islands  
			 1998–99 — 
			 1999–2000 — 
			 2000–01 — 
			 2001–02 — 
			 2002–03 — 
			 2003–04 — 
			 2004–05 — 
			 Gibraltar  
			 1998–99 28 
			 1999–2000 23 
			 2000–01 27 
			 2001–02 23 
			 2002–03 6 
			 2003–04 5 
			 2004–05 1 
			 Montserrat  
			 1998–99 31,096 
			 1999–2000 22,640 
			 2000–01 19,597 
			 2001–02 23,710 
			 2002–03 23,350 
			 2003–04 24,757 
			 2004–05 14,151 
			 Pitcairn Islands  
			 1998–99 148 
			 1999–2000 99 
			 2000–01 18 
			 2001–02 26 
			 2002–03 53 
			 2003–04 64 
			 2004–05 1,314 
			 St. Helena (and Tristan da Cunha) 
			 1998–99 8,806 
			 1999–2000 9,362 
			 2000–01 10,115 
			 2001–02 10,106 
			 2002–03 9,555 
			 2003–04 10,525 
			 2004–05 14,481 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands  
			 1998–99 3,808 
			 1999–2000 4,044 
			 2000–01 2,845 
			 2001–02 2,719 
			 2002–03 1,532 
			 2003–04 741 
			 2004–05 1,187 
		
	
	(8)Emergency assistance (approximate figure) following Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.
	In addition, the countries also benefit from DFID's regional" Overseas Territories programme. Individual country shares of this cannot be attributed.
	The European Development Fund also allocates funds for the UK Overseas Territories. Cumulative allocations since 1993 total some €86.33 million (the UK share of which is about €10.79 million or approximately £7.2 million). This sum, some of which is still being committed to or spent on approved development activities, has been shared among eligible UK Overseas Territories as follows.
	
		Thousand
		
			 Country Euros Sterling approximate 
		
		
			 Anguilla 14,450 9,600 
			 British Virgin Islands 4,900 3,300 
			 Cayman Islands 1,600 1,070 
			 Montserrat 24,900 16,600 
			 St. Helena (and Tristan da Cunha) 18,150 12,100 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands 16,280 10,850 
			 Falkland Islands 3,700 2,460 
			 Pitcairn Islands 2,350 1,570

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he plans to increase his Department's spending on British overseas territories.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's funding for the overseas territories seeks to maximise economic growth and self sufficiency. For example we anticipate some increase in future years to accommodate the cost of the proposed airport for St. Helena. At this stage, I cannot be specific about amounts.

Cayman Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's work in helping to rebuild homes on the Cayman Islands.

Gareth Thomas: DFID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provided approximately £250,000 for emergency supplies and services in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. We have not provided specific assistance to rebuild homes. We understand, however, that the European Union is considering a request for support from the Cayman Islands Government.

CDC/Actis Capital

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in which energy sector companies CDC/Actis Capital has invested.

Hilary Benn: CDC/Actis Capital have invested in the energy sector companies listed:
	Ace Power Generation Anuradhapura (Pvt) Ltd.
	Ace Power Generation Matara (Pvt)
	Asia Power Co
	Azito
	Caribbean Basin Power Fund
	CESC Limited
	Compania Boliviana de Energia Electrica
	Compania de Electricidad de Puerto Plata
	DHL Trust
	Dominica Electricity Services Ltd.
	Empresa Energetica Corinto
	Guyana Power and Light
	Haina Investment Company
	Haripur (Pvt) Ltd / Meghnaghat (Pvt) Ltd.
	Hopewell Power (Philippines) Corporation
	Hub Power Co Ltd.
	Jamaica Private Power Co
	Kelvin Power
	La Compania de Electricidad de San Pedro De Macoris
	Lanco Kondapalli
	Liberty Power
	Mirant Sual Corporation
	Orzunil
	Sidi Krir
	St. Lucia Electricity Services Ltd.
	Puerto Quetzal Power Ltd. Liability Co
	Smith/Enron Cogeneration Limited Partnership
	Songas Company Ltd.
	Southern Cone Power Ltd.
	Tsavo Power Co Ltd.
	Umeme Limited

Child Treatment Fund

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether funding for the child treatment fund is included in the 10 per cent. of his Department's spending on HIV/AIDS to be spent on orphans and vulnerable children.

Gareth Thomas: Globally, access to AIDS treatment for children is low, despite the fact that, in the absence of treatment, 50 per cent. of children with HIV will die before their second birthday. In Mozambique and Malawi, for example, 5 per cent. and 7 per cent. of those on treatment are children, whereas equitable access would require coverage of approximately 13 per cent.
	DFID has committed £150 million for support to children affected by AIDS from 2005–08. This funding will not be put through new instruments. However, this funding is being used to support a range of activities thatwill promote children's access to prevention and treatment, as well as to protection and care. For example, we are providing £10 million to Medecins Sans Frontieres for anti-retroviral roll out and prevention in South Africa.
	We are also funding research into better medicines and diagnostics for children, such as the £4.8 million trial DFID and the Medical Research Council are co-funding on anti-retroviral treatment for children. An earlier DFID funded trial in Zambia has proven the efficacy of a cheap antibiotic, Cotrimoxazole, in reducing mortality in HIV positive children.
	DFID will continue to ensure the needs of children and other vulnerable groups are addressed as we work towards scaling up to universal access to treatment by 2010, as agreed by the G8 and by the Millennium Review Summit. DFID is supporting UNICEF's Global Campaign on Children and AIDS that sets a target of providing treatment to 80 per cent. of children in need by 2010.

Colombia

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money the UK Government are providing in 2005–06 to (a) the European Commission, (b) the Inter-America Development Bank and (c) the World Bank for projects in Colombia; and if he will list the projects concerned.

Gareth Thomas: Through its contribution of 18 per cent. to the European Commission's (EC) budget, the UK Government provided £5.4 million to Colombia over the three years 2001 to 2003 (the last years for which data is available). The EC supports the search for peace and the targeting of the roots and causes of the conflict. The following four sectors are priorities for EC co-operation with Colombia: social/economic development and poverty reduction; alternative livelihoods for cocoa farmers; public sector administrative and judicial reform; and the support and promotion of human rights. Specific areas of work include: initiatives to promote peace; resettlement of people uprooted by the conflict, support to make export sectors more efficient; reinforcement of the state of law and democracy; the protection of the environment and conservation of natural resources; landmines clearance; and science and technology research.
	Colombia does not benefit from the concessional lending by the World Bank (WB) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that is funded by donors such as the UK, given its relatively high income. It does, however, borrow from the WB and IDB on near commercial terms. The UK, therefore, contributes indirectly as a shareholder of these organisations. A table of current projects supported by IDB and WB are as follows.
	
		Inter-American Development Bank: Colombia: approved projects
		
			 Approval date Project name 
		
		
			 May 2005 Strengthening the Expanded Programme on Immunization 
			 December 2004 Rural Low-Income Housing Programme 
			 December 2004 Private Participation and Concessions in Infrastructure 
			 December 2004 Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in SMEs 
			 September 2004 Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship 
			 September 2004 Sector Programme for Public Utilities 
			 August 2004 Support Cluster Competitiveness 
			 June 2004 Public Administration Reform Programme 
			 June 2004 Support to The National Environmental System (SINA II) 
			 January 2004 Modernization of Health Service Networks 
			 October 2003 Urban Social Housing Programme 
			 October 2003 Health Care and Social Security Reform Programme 
			 April 2003 Programme to Strengthen the Office of the Attorney-General 
			 March 2003 Social Emergency Programme 
			 December 2002 Highway Development and Institutional Strengthening for Cundinamarca 
			 August 2002 Use of Information and Communication Technologies 
			 May 2002 Promotion of Co-operative Ventures Between Firms 
			 March 2002 Social Infrastructure and Community Management for Peace 
			 February 2002 Strengthening Capital Markets 
			 February 2002 Business Linkages in the Garment Industry 
			 January 2002 Institutional Strengthening for the District of Bogota 
			 December 2001 Social Reform Programme 
			 August 2001 Sector Programme for Sub national Fiscal Reform 
			 April 2001 Promoting Foreign Investment in Colombian Enterprises 
			 December 2000 Environmental Implementation for Cleaner Technologies 
			 December 2000 Exporter Information on the Internet 
			 November 2000 Isabella Grape Agribusiness Project 
			 November 2000 Social Safety Net Programme 
			 October 2000 Simplification Programme for the Business Sector 
			 June 2000 Marketing Company for Micro enterprise Owners 
			 March 2000 Prefeasibility Studies for the Azufral Geothermal 
			 March 2000 Strengthening Offices of the Controller and Auditor General 
		
	
	
		World Bank: Colombia: active projects
		
			 Approval date Project name Value (US$ million) 
		
		
			 1 November 2005 Social Safety Net Project 86.4 
			 27 October 2005 1st Business Productivity and Efficiency Project 250 
			 27 October 2005 Sustainable Development Inv Project 7 
			 28 June 2005 Agricultural Transition 30 
			 10 May 2005 Disaster Vulnerability Reduction First Phase 260 
			 22 March 2005 Water and Sanitation Sector Support Project 70 
			 10 June 2004 Integrated Mass Transit Systems 250 
			 10 June 2004 Peace and Development Project (1st Phase) 30 
			 19 August 2003 CUNDIMARCA Education Quality Improvement 15 
			 13 March 2003 Bogota Urban Services Project 100 
			 23 December 2002 Higher Education—Improving Access 200 
			 22 January 2002(9) Productive Partnerships Support Project 32 
			 8 November 2001 Conflict Resolution Improvement 5 
			 25 October 2001 Water Sector Reform Assistance 40 
			 22 March 2001 Public Financial Management Project (02) 35.47 
			 8 March 2001 Policy Based Guarantee 220.3 
			 11 May 2000 Community Works and Employment Project 100 
			 2 May 2000 Sierra Nevada Sustainable Development 5 
			 11 April 2000 Rural Education Project 20 
			 20 July 1999 Cartagena Water Supply, Sewerage and Environmental Management Project 85 
		
	
	(9)Judicial.

Colombia

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which British non-governmental organisations in Colombia were given financial assistance by the UK Government in the last two years; and how much each received.

Gareth Thomas: Three projects are currently funded through DFID's Civil Society Challenge Fund:
	War on Want in the promotion of workers and human rights in Southwest Colombia—£213,950 over the period December 2003 to March 2007.
	Concern Universal to enable marginalised groups to demand and secure their constitutional rights (including access to clean water, adequate sanitation, access to healthcare and access to education)—£322,000 from April 2005 to March 2009.
	Y-Care International, to strengthen the ability of 1,800 marginalised young people and children to contribute to community development and peace promotion—£10,796 in 2005–06.
	DFID also approved an additional £7 million a year from 2005 for six international NGOs working in Latin America and the Caribbean. Of the six selected, CAFOD, Christian Aid, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are active in Colombia and will benefit from these additional funds.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently funding two projects by Save the Children in Colombia worth £92,000 over the next two years. These projects aim to tackle child sexual abuse through strengthening local institutions and raising awareness through training of journalists in child rights.

Commission for Africa

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what timetable he has set to deliver the recommendations of the Commission for Africa.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to the responseI gave to the hon. Member for South Down (Mr. McGrady) on 28 November 2005, Official Report, columns 54–55W.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to relocate staff in his Department and related agencies into London and the South East.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has no plans to relocate staff into London or the South East. Our relocation plans are in keeping with Government policy with 85 posts being relocated to our office in East Kilbride over the periods 2004–05 and 2005–06.

Early Retirement

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his Department's employees have taken early retirement in each year since 1997.

Gareth Thomas: The number of DFID employees, who have taken early retirement in each year since 1997, are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of employees 
		
		
			 1997 26 
			 1998 6 
			 1999 9 
			 2000 3 
			 2001 9 
			 2002 10 
			 2003 24 
			 2004 13 
			 2005 (10)11 
		
	
	(10)To date
	The figures include those who have retired voluntarilywith an actuarially reduced pension, those who have retired with benefits under the civil service compensation scheme and those who have retired on grounds of ill-health.

Ethiopia

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to take forward the Africa Commission's work on Ethiopia; what account he will take in his plans of (a) the participation of President Meles Zenawi, (b) the killing of demonstrators in Ethiopia by Ethiopian security forces and (c) the detention without charge of demonstrators; what plans he has to promote good governance in Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The Commission for Africa has now completed its work, having successfully produced recommendations on the changes needed to reduce poverty. Prime Minister Meles contributed to the Commission's report, but it is up to individual countries to take these recommendations forward.
	UK Ministers, and our ambassador in Ethiopia, have registered our concerns with Prime Minister Meles about the situation in Ethiopia, which resulted in deaths and injuries, and about the issue of detainees. We have urged the Government to launch an investigation into the violence.
	As a result of these events the UK, in close co-ordination with other donors, has announced a review of our development programme. We have made it clear that principles of good governance must be central to our future development partnership.

Freedom of Information

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State forInternational Development how many freedom of information applications his Department has received; how many have taken more than 20 days to process; and how many of these gave rise to complaints about the time taken.

Gareth Thomas: Between 1 January and 30 June 2005, DFID received 151 freedom of information requests. Of these, 48 took more than 20 working days to complete. Requesters sought internal reviews on the timeliness of handling for three requests.
	The Department for Constitutional Affairs is committed to publishing quarterly updates in relation to departmental performance under FOI, including information on both the volume and outcomes of requests. The bulletin for the second quarter was published on 30 September 2005 and can be found on the DCA website at http://www.foi.gov.uk/statsapr-jun05.htm and in the Libraries of both Houses. The next bulletin will be published before Christmas, while an annual report will be published in early 2006.

HIV/AIDS

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions his Department has had with the Government of (a) Lesotho, (b) Swaziland and (c) Somalia on HIV/AIDS infection, prevention and treatment.

Hilary Benn: DFID officials have met on many occasions with Government officials and civil society organisations to discuss the HIV epidemic in both Swaziland and Lesotho.
	In both countries, DFID is providing support for both prevention and care activities through a programme managed by the Southern Africa Development Community. The project is providing 7.5 million for the sub-region, of which 2 million is being spent in Lesotho and Swaziland respectively. The work focuses upon treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), behaviour change and the promotion of condom use. DFID has also financed key posts within the Department of Health. In Swaziland, DFID support targets the provision of Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) and in Lesotho it is directed towards monitoring and evaluation through the AIDS secretariat in the Ministry of Health.
	In Lesotho, DFID is providing additional support (1.7 million 200508) to develop the National AIDS Commission so that the country can develop a more co-ordinated response. This support is combined with assistance to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), to strengthen civil society and with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to help the Government build work on HIV/AIDS into its economic and development planning.
	Outside of these project activities, we have most frequently discussed issues of HIV and AIDS with officials in the National AIDS Councils of the respective countries. Because the epidemic continues to infect many people, our discussions concentrate on both prevention and care.
	In Somalia, resources from the Global Fund were committed in June 2005. DFID is providing 00,000 to the UNDP to bridge the gap until Global Fund resources come online. DFID support to the UNDP will help to build capacity to the National AIDS Commissions in Somaliland and Puntland, and should benefit the entire population. The funding will also comprise support to Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and Anti-retroviral (ARV) programmes, which are likely to reach 1,000 people.
	We are also contributing funding to UNAIDS for a 'five country strategy' which runs from 200406. The aim of the programme is to improve co-ordination on HIV and AIDS across all five countries. Approximately 950,000 will go to Somalia which equates to 26 per cent. of the total funding package for this programme.

Palestinian Refugees

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has hadwith Arab States about the provision of aid and assistance to Palestinian refugees; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to provide education, health, relief and social services to Palestinian refugees. As a major contributor to the UNRWA, providing approximately 15 million this year, DFID has regular contacts with Arab States that are hosts of refugees or provide financial assistance to the UNRWA. Most recently, DFID participated in UNRWA's annual Hosts and Donors Meeting in Jordan and, as holding the EU presidency, made a statement on behalf of the EU. In September DFID participated in the annual Advisory Commission meeting which includes the four host authorities (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Authority) and seven other countries, including the UK.

Public Service Agreements

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he will publish a Public Service Agreement delivery plan for 2004 Public Service Agreement target number 5.

Hilary Benn: We do not intend to publish the delivery plan for 200508, as this is an internal document. However, the Government regularly reports progress against PSA Target 5 in the annual Departmental and Autumn Performance Reports. These reports are publicly available on the DFID and other relevant Departments' websites. Details of the measurement systems underpinning the target are published in the PSA Technical Note, which is publicly available onthe DFID website: www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/PSA/technicalnotes.pdf

South Asia Earthquake

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made in providing shelter for those made homeless by the South Asia earthquake.

Gareth Thomas: The UN has released a 90-day winter plan that builds on the response of the past eight weeks. The focus remains on providing shelter and food for those living at high altitudes. The Government of Pakistan and the humanitarian community continue to provide relief assistance to between 350,000 and 380,000 people who remain in remote areas, and to provide camp services for up to 250,000 people in official and self settled camps.
	The United Nations has reported that a significant number of the tents provided are not winterised and efforts are under way to reinforce their protection against the winter conditions. The relief effort is also providing shelter using local materials with support for the construction of shelters with warm rooms.
	DFID has provided 5,500 winterised tents directly, and is giving further assistance to shelter provision through its support to United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations working in this sector. DFID officials have, in consultation with the United Nations, identified a further package worth 1 million of the most urgently needed support to shelter provision. We are working with the United Nations to deliver this additional support as quickly as possible.

St. Helena

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the applications submitted by non-St Helenians for land purchase licences in each year since 1997; who the applicant was in each case; and what total land mass each application concerned.

Gareth Thomas: The Governor in Council has considered, or is considering, the following applications received since 1997. Decisions are made according to the Immigrants' Landholding (Restriction) Ordinance.
	
		
			  Date of application  Name(s) Land area(s) (Acres)  Remarks 
		
		
			 28 July 1997 Janet Lesley Barlow 0.29 Refused 
			 20 October 1998 Rex Alan Bartlett and Cynthia Laura Barefoot 1.9 Granted 
			 14 June 1998 Patrick Solan and Jean Solan 0.35 Withdrawn 
			 23 February 1999 Per Richard Lochen 1.7 Granted 
			 24 February 1999 Robin Castell 2.0 Granted 
			 9 April 1999 Christopher John Grattan-Cooper and Lindsay Helen Grattan-Cooper 0.51 Granted 
			 25 February 1999 Michel Dancoisne-Martineau 12.0 Granted 
			 28 May 1999 Michel Dancoisne Martineau 69.0 Granted 
			  New Apostolic Church 0.37 Granted 
			 5 August 1999 Kelly Kosky and Kathleen Ann Kosky 35.41 Granted 
			 1 December 1999 Paul Oliver (Joint Ownership With Wife Who Is An Islander) 0.31 0.21 Granted 
			 16 March 2000 Mikael Per Olsson 10.7 Leasehold interest, granted 
			 12 August 2000 Eurnest Oliver Crouch and Ingrid Catharina Crouch 0.37 Withdrawn 
			 13 November 2000 Jeremy Robert White (joint ownership with wife who is an islander) 1.05 Granted 
			 6 September 2000 Mikael Per Olsson 0.8 Leasehold interest 
			 12 January 2001 Christopher Armstrong 0.0374 Granted 
			 11 January 2001 Michel Dancoisne Martineau 4.88 53.42 Granted 
			 1 March 2001 John Michael Styles and Lynnette Mary Bloomfield 3.5 Granted 
			 9 May 2001 Robin Anthony Fryatt (joint ownership with partner who is an islander) 0.45 0.37 Granted 
			 12 May 2001 Janet Lesley Barlow 0.247 Withdrawn 
			 24 July 2001 Richard David Harris 0.36 Withdrawn 
			 1 September 2002 Jean Florence Albert 6.8 Granted 
			 12 October 2003 Mark Loft (joint ownership with wife who is an islander) 0.19 Granted 
			 9 November 2003 John Reid (joint ownership with wife who is an islander) 0.78 Granted 
			 1 January 2004 Stephen Terry and Maureen Terry 0.32 Granted 
			 16 March 2004 Yvonne Helen Clingham 0.60 Granted 
			 21 May 2004 Nicholas Backhouse (husband of the late Cheryl Backhouse) 0.47 Pending 
			 5 July 2004 John Lawrence Terry and Maria Diosa Terry 0.63, 1.14 Granted 
			 5 September 2005 Jurgen Wolf and Johanna Wolf 0.32 Leasehold interest granted 
			 12 April 2005 John Turner and Catherine Jane turner 2.0 Granted 
			 1 July 2005 Frederick George 0.11 Granted 
			 19 September 2005 Ronald Scanes and Fe valiene Scanes 1.14 Pending 
			 26 April 2005 Shelco Investments 309.00 8.50 5.20 72.99 Pending 
			 26 April 2005 Shelco Investments 0.052 Pending 
		
	
	As part of the St. Helena Access project, DFID is supporting the St. Helena Government to develop appropriate investment and tourism policies aimed at both encouraging economic development and protecting the island's interests.

St. Helena

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many species of (a) insects and (b) plants are endemic to St. Helena.

Gareth Thomas: The standard work on the natural history of St. Helena and Ascension Island, jointly authored by Philip and Myrtle Ashmole and published in 2000, lists, as currently known to be endemic to St.Helena, approximately 385 species of invertebrates (of which approximately 285 are insects) and 50 species of plants (of which 37 are flowering plants and 13 are ferns).
	The protection of St. Helena's unique biodiversity currently benefits from a programme funded under the joint DFID/FCO Overseas Territories Environment Programme which seeks to implement a protected area plan for the Central Peaks including the control of invasive species and the restoration of endemic plants. St. Helena continues to have access to the project for the protection and enhancement of its biodiversity. Work to mitigate the effects on and to further protect the island's biodiversity is also a key component of the project to introduce air access to St. Helena.

Tuberculosis

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of funding allocated to direct budget support in 200506 in each country is attributable to the control and treatment of tuberculosis.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to the response given to my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Julie Morgan) on 14 November 2005, Official Report, columns 87071W.

Zimbabwe

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the value of grants in aid made to Zimbabwe were in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Hilary Benn: DFID has not made grants in aid to Zimbabwe in the last five years.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Audio Signing Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which broadcasters covered by the Ofcom Code on Television Access Services did not broadcast (a) audio description and (b) signing during the first half of 2005.

James Purnell: The matter raised is the responsibility of Ofcom, as independent regulator. Accordingly, officials have asked the chief executive to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Broadcasting (Illegal Jamming)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) representations she has received from broadcasters and (b) discussions she has had with the Office of Communications on the jamming of UK satellite communications system Telstar 12 and the European system Hotbird; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not received any direct representations from broadcasters nor has she had discussions with the Office of Communications about the jamming of UK satellite systems.

Broadcasting (Illegal Jamming)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact of the interruption within the UK of television services provided by (a) BBC World, (b) CNN, (c) Euro News, (d) JSTV and (e) others since September; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: The Office of Communications (OFCOM) received a report from Arquiva, the network operator responsible for transmission of Channel 5 television services in the UK on 25 October. This report notified the regulator of interference to the Telstar 12 satellite service.
	The Telstar 12 satellite provides programme feeder links for Channel 5 television broadcasts. No detailed assessment of the interference is available but it is known that it caused interruption to Channel 5 broadcasts for several hours on a number of occasions over a period of approximately two weeks.
	There were no complaints to OFCOM or DCMS officials of interference to any other UK broadcasting services sharing the satellite during the same period.
	The interference has now ceased and there have been no further reports of interruption to Channel 5 or any other UK television broadcast stations using the affected satellite. DCMS officials nevertheless remain in touch with OFCOM and FCO officials to monitor the situation and will take appropriate steps should there be a re-occurrence of the problem.

Communion Wine

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations her Department has received from groups whose only alcoholic product on sale is communion wine; and when she received such representations.

James Purnell: holding answer 5 December 2005
	The Government has received letters from two hon. Members, which enclose correspondence from their constituents on this matter. One is from a business that engages in the sale of communion wine and the other from a churchwarden. These letters were received on September 8 and 15, 2005, respectively.
	My Officials are currently investigating the points raised and I will reply as soon as all the information has been collated.

Departmental Property

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was paid by her Department in 200405 in rent for properties in (a) total, (b) each (i) region and (ii) nation of the UK and (c) London.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport paid rents for properties in London as follows in 200405. (This is the net figure after receipt of rental income from private sector tenants.)
	4,499,755
	The Department did not pay any rent outside London in 200405.

Departmental Property

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was paid by her Department in rates to each local authority in the UK in 200405; and how much was paid in (a) each (i) nation and (ii) region of the UK and (b) London.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport paid rates as follows in 200405.
	City of Westminster, London716,655.07
	London borough of Camden167,354.93
	The Royal Parks Agency paid rates as follows in 200405.
	City of Westminster council, London68,400
	The Department did not pay any rates outside London in 200405.

Departmental Staff

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff are employed by her Department in each (a) region and (b) nation of the UK; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: As at 1 December 2005 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport had 517 employees (502 full-time equivalents), which are all based in Central London.

Departmental Staff

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of each civil service grade in her Department is located in each (a) region and (b) nation of the UK; what the average salary is for each grade; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: All 517 staff (502 full time equivalents) in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are based in central London.
	The average salaries for each grade at 1 December 2005, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Grade Civil service equivalent Head count Average salary () 
		
		
			 SCS payband 2 and above  10 101,067 
			 SCS payband 1  20 63,794 
			 A(U) Grade 6 21 54,150 
			 A Grade 7 96 43,577 
			 B HEO/SEO 175 29,509 
			 C EO 128 21,490 
			 D AA/AO 67 17,524

Departmental Staff

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value is of (a) pay supplements, (b) bonuses and (c) other incentive packages that are payable in her Department on the basis of geographic location; how many people are in receipt of each payment; and what the total cost to her Department of each payment was in 200405.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not pay supplements, bonuses or any incentive package to staff on the basis of geographical location.

Departmental Staff

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps are taken by the Department to support staff with mental ill-health.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has a range of measures in place to support staff with health problems, including mental ill-health. These include guidance for managers on supporting staff with mental health problems, and the services of a professionally trained staff counsellor and occupational health adviser. The Department also has a stress management policy to provide staff and managers with guidance on how to recognise and manage stress effectively, and offers a range of flexible working patterns to accommodate the individual needs of its staff.
	The Department would also make reasonable adjustments for staff suffering from mental ill-health in compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

National Lottery

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what basis moneys allocated to the Big Lottery Fund will be distributed between the nations of the United Kingdom.

Richard Caborn: The Big Lottery Fund allocates their funding between the nations of the UK using a formula based on census data and modified by various deprivation factors. The current allocations used by the Big Lottery Fund are 77.5 per cent. for England, 11.5 per cent. for Scotland, 6.5 per cent. for Wales and 4.5 per cent. for Northern Ireland.

Newspaper Advertisements

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what responsibilities newspapers have to check on the legality of services advertised in their publications.

James Purnell: Marketers have primary responsibility for ensuring that advertisements are legal. Advertisements, and other marketing communications, should comply with the law and should not incite anyone to break it. Complaints about advertising should be made to the Advertising Standards Authority.

Olympic Sports (Young People)

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with local authorities on allocation of resources to promote involvement of young people in Olympic sports events; and what plans she has to create centres of sporting excellence in (a) Wales and (b) Blaenau Gwent in relation to participation in the 2012 Olympics.

Richard Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no specific discussions with local authorities on this issue, but they will be fully involved in plans to maximise the benefits of hosting the Games by encouraging more young people to become involved in sport.
	We have established a Nations and Regions Group to ensure the whole of the UK is engaged with and benefits from the Games in 2012. Each nation and region is also establishing a regional working group which will draw together all those who have a role to play in securing the benefits from 2012.
	The Welsh Assembly Government is responsible for sport in Wales, including capital investment and funding support for talented athletes and centres of excellence. The Welsh Assembly Government will be discussing further proposals for support to talented young sports people to ensure Wales can claim its share of medals at the 2012 Games.
	The Welsh Assembly Government is also committed to maximising the wider benefits of the 2012 Olympic Games. They have already established a dedicated Unit to take forward a co-ordinated approach to ensure Wales benefits from the sporting and economic opportunity of the Olympic Games. Local authorities in Wales will play a key role in this co-ordinated approach.

Olympic Games

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that adequate preparations have been taken to ensure that skilled labour will be available to finish the construction of the Olympic Village and other Olympic facilities in a timely manner.

Richard Caborn: The 'Procurement Principles' published by the interim Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) in Septemberwhich underpin the development of the ODA's procurement strategyidentify the importance of a programme of skills and training to maximise local benefits and secure the wider economic dividend.
	The Department is working closely with the London Development Agency (IDA), the sector skills council for construction, Learning and Skills Council and other partners to quantify the detailed construction skills and employment requirements needed to deliver the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and to develop appropriate responses to address any gaps.
	The Office of Government Commerce is undertaking a 2012 Construction Demand/Capacity Study which will bring together existing research and data across the construction industry, including that relating to skills issues. This will enable us to assess the ability of the industry to deliver significant capital development programmes, including the Olympics.
	In addition, the LDA is in discussion with the local London boroughs to finalise a framework of initiatives which will assist residents in accessing employment opportunities in construction relating to the Games and also help the construction industry to meet the challenges of the project. Proposed interventions include brokerage services to assist residents from all sections of local communities to access skills training and construction employment, support for local construction businesses and a construction work force training programme.

Race Equality Impact Assessments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Race Equality Impact Assessments her Department completed between (a) April 2004 and March 2005 and (b) April 2005 and November 2005; and how many assessments in each period resulted in a change of policy.

David Lammy: My Department has not completed any Race Equality Impact Assessments during these periods. We are currently looking at training needs within the Department to ensure that staff are fully aware of the importance of carrying out these assessment in relevant cases.

Sporting Facilities

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what targets her Department has set for the use of sporting facilities in England.

Richard Caborn: We do not have a target specifically on use of sports facilities. But our aim is that by 2008 almost no one should be more than 20 minutes travel time from a range of good quality sports facilities.
	More and better facilities are an important part of our wider sports policy participation objectives. DCMS has an ambitious PSA target to increase participation in sport among priority groups by 3 per cent. by 2008.

Tourism Bodies

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what changes (a) have been made and (b) will be made to the allocation of expenditure as identifiable or non-identifiable in the Department's Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis (PESA) as a result of the English Tourism Council being subsumed into Visit Britain; and what criteria were used for the allocation of identifiable and non-identifiable expenditure for VisitBritain in the most recent PESA.

James Purnell: Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) shows expenditure by region based on the expenditure aggregate Total Expenditure on Services (TES), which excludes certain grants and transfers within the public sector. A full definition of TES is shown in annex E of PESA 2005 or on HM Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/45E/2D/pesa2005_ appendixe.pdf.
	Grants to VisitBritain and its predecessors have not been included in the regional analyses in PESA. This position is under review.

Tourism Bodies

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value was of grants paid to the (a) English Tourism Council, (b) Greater London Authority and (c) Scottish Executive and VisitScotland in each year since 2001; and how these were allocated in terms of identifiable and non-identifiable expenditure in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses.

James Purnell: Table 1 gives details of the grants paid to the English Tourism Council (ETC) for the period 2001 to 2003 and Greater London Authority (GLA) for the period 2001 to 2005. My Department does not hold data for the Scottish Executive or VisitScotland, this data would be held by their offices.
	
		Table 1
		
			  ETC GLA 
		
		
			 200102 14.591 1.9 
			 200203 14.125 1.9 
			 200304 merged with VisitBritain 1.9 
			 200405 n/a 1.9 
		
	
	In PESA 2005 expenditure on tourism by VisitBritain (which succeeded the British Tourist Association and the English Tourism Council) is classified as non-identifiable. However, this is under review. The criteria for classifying expenditure as identifiable or non-identifiable is published on the HM Treasury website http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/e13/8B/CRA%20 memoranum.pdf in the annex B of the memorandum issued by HM Treasury and ONS. Treasury Government Expenditure by Region.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Airspace (Extraordinary Renditions)

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether United Kingdom security services personnel have travelled in an aircraft used for the purpose of an international rendition.

Jack Straw: It is not the Government's policy to comment on intelligence matters.

Airspace (Extraordinary Renditions)

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions and at what locations officials in the United Kingdom security services have questioned individuals who have been subject to an international rendition or other involuntary transfer by United States officials.

Jack Straw: It is not the Government's policy to comment on intelligence matters.

Airspace (Extraordinary Renditions)

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any aircraft used by United States officials for the purpose of an international rendition has landed at a UK airport.

Jack Straw: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer I gave him today (UIN 36414).

Airspace (Extraordinary Renditions)

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information officials in the United Kingdom security services collect on (a) the detention of individuals in European states by or at the request of United States officials and (b) the transit through UK airports of aircraft used by United States officials for the purpose of international rendition.

Jack Straw: It is not the Government's policy to comment on intelligence matters.

Airspace (Extraordinary Renditions)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what the Government's policy is on the use of (a) UK airspace and (b) UK overseas territory for the purposes of extraordinary rendition flights involving those accused of terrorist activities; and if he will make a statement.
	(2)  whether the Government have made representations to the US Administration regarding reports of the use of British territory and overseas territories, including sovereign bases, for purposes of extraordinary rendition flights involving those accused of terrorist activities; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer I gave the right hon. and learned Member for North East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell) today (UIN 36414).

Airspace (Extraordinary Renditions)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from his EU counterparts regarding the use of EU airspace for extraordinary rendition flights involving those accused of terrorist activities; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: At the request of my EU colleagues, as the EU President, I wrote to the United States (US) Secretary of State on 29 November about media reports of US rendition operations and detention camps in Europe. The Secretary of State replied on 6 December enclosing a copy of her public statement of 5 December, available at http://www.state.gov./secretary/rm/2005/57602.htm, by way of response.

Bangladesh

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Bangladesh concerning terrorist incidents in Bangladesh; and if he will take steps to highlight to the international community recent incidents of attacks against the Christian community in Bangladesh.

Kim Howells: I visited Bangladesh from 14 to 16 November. In meetings with the Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, Home Affairs Minister, Lutfurzzaman Babar, and others, I raised the 17 August attacks and subsequent bombings. I underlined to them and others the need for this threat to be addressed seriously and reminded them of the UK's commitment to work with the Government of Bangladesh to counter terrorism and promote democracy and the rule of law.
	We continue to be concerned about the situation of religious minorities including Christians in Bangladesh. I discussed this with representatives from minority communities during my visit and outlined, in a widely reported speech to senior politicians, religious figures, media and business professionals, the UK's concerns about acts of repression against minorities. The British High Commission in Dhaka closely monitors incidents of religious persecution and intolerance. These issues are highlighted in the 2005 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights Report which is available in the Library of the House. We regularly raise human rights including religious persecution with the Government of Bangladesh, both bilaterally and together with EU partners.

Burma

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take up with the Burmese authorities the case of Thet Win Aung, a prisoner of conscience in Burma.

Ian Pearson: Thet Win Aung is one of a number of political prisoners the EU has identified as being of particular concern. The EU raises their cases with the Burmese military regime at every opportunity. Most recently, our ambassador in Rangoon raised this with the Burmese Interior Minister on 26 October and the Minister of Foreign Affairs on 31 October.

Chagos Islanders

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on plans for the return of the Chagos islanders to their homes.

Douglas Alexander: There are no plans to allow the Chagossians to return to the Chagos Archipelago.
	Two Orders in Council were made in June 2004: the British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004 and the British Indian Ocean Territory (Immigration) Order 2004. These restored full immigration control over the entire British Indian Ocean Territory. In his written statement to Parliament on 15 June 2004, Official Report, columns 3234WS, my hon. Friend, the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Bill Rammell stated,
	... full immigration control over the entire Territory is necessary to ensure and maintain the availability and effective use of the Territory for defence purposes, for which it was in fact constituted and set aside in accordance with the UK's treaty obligations entered into almost 40 years ago.
	In the statement, Mr Rammell also said
	... anything other than short-term resettlement on a purely subsistence basis would be high precarious and would involve expensive underwriting by the UK Government for an open-ended periodprobably permanently.
	The Government's position has not changed.
	An application for judicial review of the Orders in Council will be heard by the High Court from 6 to 12 December 2005.

CIA Prisons (Europe)

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he first raised reports of secret Central Intelligence Agency prisons in European countries with the US authorities.

Jack Straw: At the request of my EU colleagues, as the EU President, I wrote to the US Secretary of State on 29 November about media reports of US rendition operations and detention camps in Europe. The Secretary of State replied on 6 December enclosing a copy of her public statement of 5 December, available at http://www.state.gov./secretary/rm/2005/57602.htm, by way of response.

Colombia

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will offer support to victims of human rights violations in Colombia.

Douglas Alexander: We have consistently demonstrated our support to the victims of human rights violations in Colombia. We have done so through interventions with the Government of Colombia over specific human rights cases, either through the EU or bilaterally; through financial and political support to the Colombia office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and its activities to improve the human rights situation; and through support to British and Colombian NGOs working in human rights in Colombia, including through projects funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Global Conflict Prevention Pool and the Global Opportunities Fund. Ministers regularly meet representatives of churches, trade unions and other organisations in civil society to address their concerns. We have regularly used high level visits between the UK and Colombia to highlight the importance we and the EU as a whole attach to human rights, especially to the rights of victims of the armed conflict to truth, justice and reparation. The most recent example of this was during the visit to the UK of Vice-President Santos on 28 November when he met my noble Friend, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We will continue to ensure that human rights are at the heart of our policy, and indeed EU policy, towards the country.

Colombia

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of human rights in Colombia; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The human rights situation in Colombia remains grave. While we acknowledge that there has been a reduction in recent years in some human rights abuses, there is still a lot that needs to be done to improve the situation. During the visit to the UK by Vice-President Santos in late November, my noble Friend, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office raised human rights issues with him. We have made it plain to the Government of Colombia that we are willing to work with them to help bring an improvement to the situation in the country, either as a bilateral partner or through our EU membership. We will continue to look for ways to bring about change, working with other partners such as the UN and civil society, to achieve this goal.

Colombia

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will increase its financial support for the UN Human Rights Office in Bogota to increase its capacity to observe the impact of the paramilitary demobilisation process on human rights; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The UK is already a significant financial supporter of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) in Bogota. In the financial year 200506 we provided 400,000 in voluntary contributions to the office of the UNHCHR in Geneva, 100,000 of which was allocated to the Colombia office. Such matters are decided on a case by case and annual basis. The funding level for financial year 200607 is likely to be considered in March 2006. We also provide political support for the mandate of the UNHCHR. We view it as an important component in the search for peace and one that seeks to protect and promote the human rights of all sectors of society, particularly victims of the armed conflict.

Correspondence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to answer the hon. Member for Buckingham's letter of 18 November.

Douglas Alexander: I replied to the hon. Member's letter on 7 December.

Departmental Staff (Chronic Back Pain)

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives are being taken in his Department to help civil servants with chronic back pain.

Ian Pearson: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff have access to a full occupational health service provided by Capita Health Solutions through the FCOHealthcare Contract with International SOS. This includes work station assessments and advice on adjustments to working arrangements related to health problems. Training in manual handling is provided where appropriate.

Detention Centres (US Flights)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information (a) he and (b) his officials have received about flights operated by United States agencies stopping in the UK en route to detention centres in (i) European Union states, (ii) other European states, (iii) non-European countries other than the United States and (iv)Guantanamo Bay.

Kim Howells: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement issued by the US Secretary of State on 5 December, available at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/57602.htm, in response to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's letter to her of 29 November requesting clarification of reports of flights allegedly related to the transfer of terrorist suspects.

Eurozone (Poland)

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ask the new Polish Government not to proceed with entry into the eurozone.

Douglas Alexander: No. It is for each new member state to pursue its own strategy for adoption of the euro appropriate to its circumstances, and in line with its obligations under the treaty establishing the European Community.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds have been allocated to promoting tourism in the Falklands.

Douglas Alexander: The promotion of Tourism in the Falkland Islands is the responsibility of the Government of the Falkland Islands. We have been informed that the Falkland Islands tourist board's budget for tourism development is 220,000.

Guantanamo Bay

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the United States administration over the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Kim Howells: We discuss Guantanamo Bay with the United States (US) Government on a regular basis. TheUS Government is well aware of our continuing concerns over the conditions of detainees there.

International Arrest Warrants

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 29 November 2005, Official Report, column 298W, on international arrest warrants, from which other UK Government Departments officials were present at the two meetings with officials of the Israeli Government; and whether suggestions were made at these meetings to amend (a) UK law and (b) guidance relating to international arrest warrants.

Kim Howells: Officials from the Home Office attended both of these meetings and an official from the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers attended one of them. The meeting discussed the legal background to the Almog case and its implications. As my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, Andy Burnham wrote in his response to my hon. Friend on 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 596W, details of these meetings are confidential.

Israel

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 160W, on Israel, what he apologised for.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary apologised as a matter of courtesy to Israeli Foreign Minster Shalom in the event that the issuing of an arrest warrant for retired Israeli General Doron Almog had upset or embarrassed the Israelis. As I said in my answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 160W, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary also stressed that the Government had had no role in this matter and that it had been a private prosecution.

Mediterranean Countries

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of EU funding to encourage Mediterranean partners to make progress on democracy and good governance.

Douglas Alexander: In common with our partners in the EU Mediterranean Partnership, we recognise that much remains to be done to meet the aspirations set out in the 1995 Barcelona Declaration. However, EC funding is increasingly linked to progress, for example, on action plans, and leaders agreed at the 2005 Barcelona Summit to enhance their efforts in areas such as support for political pluralism and meeting international standards in the conduct of elections. One of the main achievements of the recent Summit was the announcement of a Governance Facility through which the EU will help support those countries ready to take bold steps on governance.

Mediterranean Countries

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress towards the goal of establishing an EU/Mediterranean free trade area by 2010.

Douglas Alexander: Progress towards Euro-Mediterranean free trade has been one of the main achievements of Euro-Mediterranean relations since the Euro-Mediterranean process was launched in 1995. Association Agreements covering free trade have been negotiated with all Southern Mediterranean partners. The liberalisation of trade in goods in the Mediterranean region is now a reality and most industrial goods originating in Southern Mediterranean countries enjoy duty free access to the EU. Conversely, Mediterranean countries are progressively dismantling tariffs on imports of EU industrial goods over a period of 12 years. The adoption in 2003 of a protocol on rules of origin has allowed economic operators to cumulate processing made in different countries of the region in order to obtain preferential treatment for their products more easily. Progress has also been made towards the conclusion of South-South agreements (eg the Agadir free trade agreement between Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco in 2004).
	At the recent Euro-Mediterranean Summit, Partners reiterated their commitment to the creation of a Free Trade Area by 2010 and agreed a set of measures to achieve this goal. This included the imminent launch of regional negotiations on services and investment and on agricultural products.

Mediterranean Countries

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what resources the Government have committed to economic, political and social reform in southern Mediterranean countries.

Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has an 8.5 million programme fund to help implement constructive engagement with the Islamic world and peaceful political and economic reform in Arab countries including southern Mediterranean countries. Through our membership of the EU, we also contribute towards the EU Mediterranean Partnership which since 1995 has provided the southern Mediterranean countries with financial supportaround 1 billion a year in grants and another 2 billion a year in loans.

Montserrat

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government take to encourage British tourists to travel to Montserrat.

Douglas Alexander: Responsibility for the development of tourism in Montserrat falls within the remit of the locally elected Montserratian Government. However, the UK Government are funding initiatives to help promote Montserrat as a tourist destination.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting a three-year Tourism Development Project in Montserrat, to develop and market tourism products, and to reintroduce Montserrat to the regional and international tourism markets. It includes activities targeted specifically at British tourists, such as ensuring Montserrat is represented at major travel events in the UK.
	DFID has also supported a 12-month publicity project for Montserrat, which included a recent photographic exhibition at the Mall Gallery in London with images of Montserrat 10 years on from the volcanic eruptions.
	These initiatives, in addition to the resumption of fixed wing air services earlier this year which allow travellers to book through air tickets from the UK to Montserrat, encourage British tourists to travel to the island.

Palestine

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times he has met members of the Palestinian Authority in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I, along with other Members of the Government, regularly meet members of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Most recently I met with PA Foreign Minister Nasser al Qidwa, Finance Minister Salam Fayyad and Presidential Chief of Staff Rafiq Husseni during my visit to the region on 2730 September. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last held meetings with Foreign Minister Nasser al Qidwa, Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and President Mahmoud Abbas in Barcelona on 28 November.

Palestine

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are being taken by the Palestinian Authority to fulfil its international obligations to reduce terrorism.

Kim Howells: The Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has publicly condemned all terrorist activities. The PA is working closely with the United States Security Co-ordinator (General Ward) in order to improve its effectiveness on security. Some progress has been made but much more needs to be done. The EU are working with the PA to expand the current EU Co-ordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support mission to increase the operational capacity of the Palestinian police force.

Russia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement between the EU and Russia.

Douglas Alexander: The EU enjoys close co-operation with Russia on a range of issues outlined in the 1997 Partnership and Co-operation Agreement, including on justice and home affairs and economic relations.
	The Road Maps for the Four Common Spaces finalised at the May 2005 EU-Russia Summit formalised the EU-Russia dialogue in new areas not covered in the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement, in particular on external security issues including counter terrorism. Progress on these areas was welcomed at the UK-hosted EU-Russia Summit in October.
	The EU and Russia are examining in more detail the implementation of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement as part of early considerations on future EU-Russia relations following the scheduled expiry of the first 10-year term of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement in 2007.

Russia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received on the human rights situation in Russia.

Douglas Alexander: Staff at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and at our Embassy in Moscow are in regular contact with human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who use the opportunity of these meetings to make representations and discuss a range of human rights issues in Russia.
	In addition, during 2005 the FCO received 36 letters and 17 parliamentary questions about human rights and democracy in Russia.
	Given this public interest about human rights in Russia and our broader objective of engagement with the Russian Government on human rights and democracy, staff at the FCO in London and at our embassy in Moscow raise human rights issues with their Russian Government interlocutors at every appropriate opportunity.

Security Services (Travel)

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether personnel in the United Kingdom security services have travelled in US-registered aircraft tail number (a) N313P and (b) N44982, formerly N8068V and N379P.

Jack Straw: It is not the Government's policy to comment on intelligence matters.

Sensitive Products

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the consistency with which trade rules on the protection of sensitive products are applied to (a) developed and (b) developing countries.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	Sensitive products are a new concept which form part of the Doha Development Agenda's Framework Agreement. The number and treatment of sensitive products have yet to be decided in the context of the Doha Development Agenda and therefore they have yet to be applied. However, in line with Framework Agreement these sensitive products will be available to all WTO membersdeveloping and developedand will be subject to lesser tariff cuts than non-sensitive products.
	In line with the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countriesbased on the fact this is a development Rounddeveloping countries will also have access to special products. These special products are in addition to sensitive products and should be based on criteria of food security, livelihood security and rural development needs. Special products will be eligible for more flexible treatment, which has yet to be agreed.

St. Helena

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what circumstances the Public Solicitor in St. Helena is allowed to undertake private work; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that such work does not conflict with his public duties.

Douglas Alexander: The Public Solicitor is forbidden to undertake work outside his terms of reference, which require him, while being employed in the public service, to provide legal advice to the private sector.

Terrorist Suspects (Renditions)

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he was first informed that the United States was conducting international renditions of terrorist suspects; and what representations he has made to the US administration on such renditions.

Jack Straw: The term rendition is currently being used to describe informal transfers of individuals in a wide range of circumstances. Whether any particular rendition is lawful depends on the facts of each individual case. Where we are requested to assist another State and our assistance would be lawful, we will decide whether or not to assist taking into account all the circumstances. We would not assist in any case if to do so would put us in breach of UK law or our international obligations. In particular, we would not facilitate the transfer of an individual from or through the UK to another State where there were grounds to believe that the person would face a real risk of torture.
	Careful research by officials has been unable to identify any occasion since 11 September 2001, or earlier in the Bush administration, when we received a request for permission by the United States (US) for a rendition through UK territory or airspace, nor are we otherwise aware of such a case.
	Additional research covering the remainder of the period of office of this Government (i.e. back to May 1997) has been undertaken. This shows there were some renditions via the UK during that period. Specifically, we have identified two definite occasions in 1998 when requests were made by the US. These occasions, for which records have been identified, were for transfer to the US for the person concerned to stand trial there. As the then Home Secretary I agreed these requests.
	Although confirmatory records have yet to be identified, we believe that there may have been one or two other possible cases, also in 1998, which concerned requests by the US but for transfer to a third country. We have information on one such case which is incomplete and does not tell us whether the request was refused. We also have information on a case based on the recollection of officials involved in such matters, without any confirmatory records. The officials' recollection is that the case was refused. It is likely, but not certain, that the two cases are in fact one and the same. I have some recollection of such a case, but, given the passage of time, I cannot be certain. The search for records continues.

Trade Liberalisation

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account he has taken of the World Bank's assessment that designating 2 per cent. of products as sensitive products could counter progress made in trade liberalisation in his assessment of the EU proposal to protect 8 per cent. of products as sensitive.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK is aware of the research cited and is committed to substantial improvements in market access. We also believe that there should only be a minimal number of sensitive products. The number of sensitive products must be considered in light of the 'treatment' which is agreed for sensitive products and in the context of the tariff reduction formula. Only then is it possible to consider the impact of a certain number of sensitive products.

US Aircraft (Registration)

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the Government have asked the US Administration what the purpose has been of aircraft registered with the United States Central Intelligence Agency landing at United Kingdom (a) civilian and (b) military airports since 11 September 2001.

Jack Straw: I refer to the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for North East Fife (SirMenzies Campbell) today (UIN 36414).

US Detainees

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government know the identity of the detainees held by the United States and referred to in paragraph 78 of the report published in March 2005 by the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Kim Howells: The International and Security Committee's Report described the circumstances under which UK personnel conducted or witnessed interviews with detainees held by the United States (US) authorities. Its main focus was not the identities of those detained. The Government do not have full details of all those detained by the US.

US Detainees

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US Administration about reports of US detention facilities which use torture in Eastern Europe.

Kim Howells: As EU President, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary wrote to the US Secretary of State on 29 November seeking clarification of media reports of Central Intelligence Agency detention camps in Eastern Europe.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the US Secretary of State's statement and that of the Foreign Secretary of 5 December. These are available at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/57602.htm and http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPagec=Pagecid=1007029391638a= KArticleaid=l133771542523 respectively.

Zimbabwe

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Zimbabwe's discovery of uranium.

Ian Pearson: The recent statement by President Mugabe is not the first announcement of uranium discoveries in Zimbabwe. It is not yet clear if the uranium is viable for extraction, or if Zimbabwe intends to invest the considerable time and money required to develop this resource. Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In accordance with its NPT obligations, Zimbabwe has signed a nuclear safeguards agreement with the IAEA. Any proliferation in this area would, therefore, be subject to international oversight, in accordance with their safeguards agreement. We will continue to monitor the situation.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Ageing

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many gerontologists are on the boards of the (a) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and (b) Biotechnology and Biology Science Research Council; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 2 December 2005
	The information is as follows:
	(a) The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's strategic advisory team for its 'Infrastructure and Environment Programme' has an independent member who is involved in ageing research.
	(b) There are representatives on the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council's boards, committees and panels who are researching aspects of ageing in humans and animals. Two scientists who are members of the healthy organism strategy panel (whose role it is to devise the future strategy for BBSRC sponsored ageing research) and two scientists who are members of grant-awarding committees are involved in such research. In addition, two members of the bioscience for industry strategy panel and four members of grant-awarding committees are from companies with major ageing research programmes.

Ageing

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Government funding has been made available for the Biotechnology and Biology Science Research Council programme of experimental research on ageing programme for the years 2002 to 2005; if he will list the (a) organisations and (b) projects to which grants have been made in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 2 December 2005
	BBSRC has awarded a total of 4.2 million through the experimental research on ageing initiative. Estimated spend by year is as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 200102 68,000 
			 200203 1,026,000 
			 200304 1,286,000 
			 200405 1,200,000 
			 200506 592,000 
			 200607 37,000 
		
	
	Further details on each grant can be found in the table including project title and name of the principal investigator.
	
		
			  Project Title Principal investigator and co-applicants  Grant address 
		
		
			 Androgen, neurotrophin and amnio-acid neurotransmitter receptors in pelvic floor motorneurones throughout adult life Santer Watson A. H. D. Cardiff University 
			 The basis for decreased responsiveness to immune challenge in the elderly in vivo Akbar A. N. Plunkett F. J. Royal Free and University College Medical School 
			 Gene expression profiling of brain and cognitive ageing in mice Wilkinson L. Emson P. Babraham Institute 
			 Age-related changes in the hypothalamo-pituitary -adrenal axis: Role in immunesenescence and effect of DHEA replacement Lord J. Salmon M. University of Birmingham 
			 Variations in the density and spatial properties of the achromatic and SWS-driven retinal ganglion cells with age Anderson R. Chakravarthy U. University of Ulster 
			 The impact of replicative senescence on age-related tissue degeneration: an ovine model Kipling D. Davis T. Jones C. J. Cardiff University 
			 Proteomics of yeast ageing Morgan A. Pennington S. University of Liverpool 
			 Antioxidant response and resistance to oxidative stress in Drosophila with respect to ageing McLellan L. University of Dundee 
			 Ageing in the parasitic nematode Strongyloides ratti. Viney M. E. Gems D. University of Bristol 
			 Modification of 117 and the reversal of thymic involution in aged mice Aspinall R. Imperial College London 
			 Cost of reproduction, caloric restriction, oxidative damage and ageing in Drosophila Partridge L. Chapman T. University College London 
			 Structural and functional changes of muscle-tendon in ageing: implications for locomotion Narici M. V. Minetti A. E. Maganaris C. Manchester Metropolitan University 
			 Antioxidant Response and resistance to oxidative stress in Drosophila with respect to ageing Saunders R. D. C. Open University 
			 Extracellular reactive oxygen species as propagators of tissue ageing Jackson M. Ashton T. McArdle A. University of Liverpool 
			 The effect of calorie restriction and lipoic acid supplementation on age-related redox status and transcription factor profile Merry B. J. University of Liverpool 
			 Age-related changes in neuroendocrine signalling characterisation, underlying mechanisms and functional rescue Ingram C. D. University of Newcastle upon Tyne 
			 Linking senescence and tissue degeneration through Werner's syndrome Faragher R.G.A. University of Brighton 
			 Soft tissue ageing is characterised by a failure of matrix synthesis and the accumulation of fragmented matrix proteins Smith R. K. Pitsillides A. A. Royal Veterinary College 
			 Development of small molecule inhibitors of WRN: a model system of ageing Cox L. Green M. H. Naughton D. P. Rodriguez A. M. University of Oxford

Ageing

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has made an assessment of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee report Ageing: Scientific Aspects, published on 21 July 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 2 December 2005
	The Government's response to the report was submitted to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on 4 November 2005 and I expect it to be published by the Committee in due course.

Bankruptcies

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people living in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield district and (c) Normanton constituency have been declared bankrupt in the last 12 months; and how many such declarations occurred during the Christmas period.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The regional breakdown available for the insolvency statistics is not directly comparable with standard administrative or electoral geographies. The insolvency regions are areas assigned to groups of official receivers and are based around the location of county courts where the cases are heard and of courts having jurisdiction over these. As such the Metropolitan County of West Yorkshire (including Wakefield) is best matched to the Leeds official receivers office, however there is some overlap with adjoining areas. The county courts covered by the Leeds Official Receivers Office are Bradford, Dewsbury, Halifax, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Keighley, Leeds, Otley, Pontefract, Skipton, Todmorden and Wakefield. Bankruptcy statistics are not available at a lower geographical level than official receivers offices.
	The following table records the number of individual bankruptcy orders classified under the Leeds Official Receivers' Office for the period October 2004 to September 2005 as a whole and for the months of December 2004 and January 2005 separately.
	
		Numbers of individual bankruptcies recorded under the Leeds official receivers office, October 2004 to September 2005
		
			  Bankruptcy orders 
		
		
			 12 month total 1,826 
			 December 2004 114 
			 January 2005 128

Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many grants have been awarded for projects to construct large scale electricity generators of greater than 20 MWe under the Bio-energy Capital Grants scheme; how much each grant was; to which company each was awarded; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The capital grants are as follows.
	
		
			 Company Project MW Grant ( million) 
		
		
			 E.on (Powergen) Lockerbie 43 (11)18 
			 Sembcorp/Wilton 10 Teesside 31.5 (11)11.9 
			 Peninsula Power WINBEG 23 (12)11.5 
		
	
	(11)Accepted.
	(12)Grant undertaking of.

Biomass Energy Generator (Winkleigh)

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with interested parties on the proposal for a biomass energy generator at Winkleigh in Devon; and what assistance his Department has given to the project.

Malcolm Wicks: I have had no direct discussions with any of the parties involved.
	The developer company Peninsula Power is presently in receipt of a grant undertaking of 11.5 million from DTI under its Bio-energy Capital Grants scheme and my officials have met routinely with the applicant company as required by the grant process. They have also dealt with a considerable correspondence from Winkleigh residents regarding the proposed project.

Broadband

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which post code areas in Westmorland andLonsdale do not have access to broadband; and on what date broadband will be available in each of those areas.

Alun Michael: holding answer 2 December 2005
	The information is not available in the form requested.
	Great progress has been made towards providing broadband access everywhere and 99.6 per cent. of the population is now covered. This is considerable progress against the 2003 (80 per cent.) and 2004 (93 per cent.) figures.
	BT considers that it is not financially viable to enablethe remaining exchanges. Regional development agencies are working to address the gaps in broadband access at a local level.

Business Start-ups

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new business start-ups there were in (a) the East of England, (b) Suffolk and (c) the constituency of Bury St. Edmunds in each of the last five years.

Alun Michael: The information is as follows:
	Business Start Ups in the East of England, Suffolk and St.Edmundsbury
	It is difficult to give absolutely firm figures of business start-ups. One measure is the number of registrations for VAT but VAT registrations do not capture all start-up activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if theyfall below the compulsory VAT threshold. Only 1.8 million out of 4.3 million enterprises were registered for VAT at the start of 2004.
	Information for VAT registrations is not available at a constituency level. Figures for St. Edmundsbury local authority district are therefore provided.
	
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 VAT Registrations  
			 East of England Government Office Region 17,595 16,555 17,710 18,510 17,580 
			 Suffolk County 2,040 1,860 2,075 2,130 2,050 
			 St. Edmundsbury 295 295 340 310 345 
			   
			 VAT Registrations per 10,000 adults  
			 East of England Government Office Region 39.9 37.5 40.1 41.9 39.8 
			 Suffolk County 37.0 33.7 37.6 38.6 37.2 
			 St. Edmundsbury 36.2 36.2 41.7 38.0 42.3

Business Start-ups

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new business start-ups there were in (a) England, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) Kettering constituency in each year since 1997.

Alun Michael: It is difficult to give absolutely firm figures of business start-ups. One measure is the number of registrations for VAT but VAT registrations do not capture all start-up activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold. Only 1.8 million out of 4.3 million enterprises were registered for VAT at the start of 2004.
	According to Barclays bank's latest survey of business creation, which includes non-VAT registered firms, there were 428,200 business start-ups in England in 2003 and a further 425,100 in 2004.
	Barclays data show that there were 5,300 business start-ups in Northamptonshire in 2003 and a further 5,100 in 2004. Data for counties are not available before 2003. Data for Kettering constituency are not provided, since Barclays do not produce sub-county level data at present. Data for 2005 will be available in spring 2006.
	DTI figures based solely on VAT registrations for England, Northamptonshire county and Kettering constituency are shown as follows for 1997 to 2004. Data for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006.
	
		VAT registrations: 1997 to 2004
		
			  England Northamptonshire county Kettering constituency 
		
		
			 1997 159,730 2,050 330 
			 1998 160,235 2,065 345 
			 1999 155,390 2,140 330 
			 2000 157,615 2,055 345 
			 2001 148,835 1,955 315 
			 2002 155,175 1,990 320 
			 2003 166,505 2,270 385 
			 2004 158,535 2,270 395 
		
	
	Source:
	Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994 to 2004, Small Business Service, available at http://www.sbs.gov.uk/vats

Carbon Emissions

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Government funding will be available in the next 10 years to UK electricity generators who wish to make use of carbon capture equipment to reduce emissions.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have made available 35 million for demonstration projects in carbon abatement technologies and this includes the 10 million announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer during his pre-Budget speech. These technologies will involve the use of carbon capture equipment.
	Also, the climate change programme review is considering the possibility of incentives for carbon reduction from fossil fuel use.

Clean Coal

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research the Department is funding into clean coal; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 1999 the Department provided 13 million to the Cleaner Coal Technology Programme and an additional 3.5 million for collaborative Cleaner Coal Technology projects with the USA. The Department's Carbon Abatement Technology Programme has also provided 4 million for new Carbon Abatement Technologies including Cleaner Coal Technologies under its first call for project proposals during 200506.
	The Government has also made available 35 million. This includes the 10 million announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his pre-Budget speech, for demonstration projects in Carbon Abatement Technologies which will involve carbon capture and storage.

Clean Coal

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the use of clean coal technology.

Malcolm Wicks: The Carbon Abatement Technologies Strategy which I announced on 14 June this year sets out the Government's policy and views for the future support for cleaner coal technologies. Copies of the Strategy are available in the Libraries of the House and at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/coal/cfft/cct/pub/catreportlinked.pdf

Clear Skies/Photovoltaics Programmes

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the expenditure on the Clear Skies and Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme was in each year since 2002.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows.
	For Clear Skies the details are as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 2003 200,722 
			 2004 1,386,556 
			 2005 1,977,599 
		
	
	For the Major Photovoltaics Programme the details are as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 200203 966,176 
			 200304 2,885,094 
			 200405 6,792,174 
			 200506 4,207,354

Construction Act Review

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if he will consult in the forthcoming Construction Act Review on outlawing (a) pay when certified and (b) pay when paid arrangements;
	(2)  if he will consult in the forthcoming Construction Act Review on introducing measures to increase certainty on when a debt is created.

Alun Michael: Officials at the Department of Trade and Industry and Welsh Assembly Government are currently preparing an analysis of the responses to their consultation on Improving Payment Practices in the Construction Industry. The analysis will be published shortly and will set out the proposals we intend to take forward. We have already undertaken to consult further on amendments to the legislation. The construction industry and its stakeholders will have the opportunity to scrutinise the proposals at that stage.

Correspondence

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for North Essex of 28 October concerning the Government's energy policy.

Malcolm Wicks: I have received the hon. Member's letter and have now replied.

Departmental Expenditure

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department has spent on the purchase of branded (a) L.P. bags, (b) plastic carrier bags and (c) pens in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: A response cannot be provided to this question as the Department's records do not capture this level of detail. Finding this information would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Departmental Staff (Chronic Back Pain)

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives are being taken in his Department to help civil servants with chronic back pain.

Alan Johnson: The DTI provides medical and other advice, through their Occupational Health Services and through disability management advisers and specialist assessors where appropriate, to identify the appropriate support for employees with medical conditions, including chronic back pain.

Domestic Accidents

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives his Department is taking to help reduce the number of serious accidents in the home.

Gerry Sutcliffe: None. The Department has for many years maintained advice on its website on safety in the home. However, the Department's role is to ensure that the right regulatory framework is in place to ensure the safety of consumers. In some product sectors, such as toys, there is specific safety legislation, and new General Product Safety Regulations came into force on 1 October 2005. Other Departments offer advice on e.g. fire safety in the home, but generally other organisations are better placed to take forward safety campaigning and to provide advice on safety in the home.

Doorstep Selling

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regulations govern doorstep selling; what action his Department is taking to combat aggressive doorstep selling; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Doorstep selling is governed by the Consumer Protection (Cancellation of Contracts Concluded Away from Business Premises) Regulations 1987.
	In the light of an OFT market study of doorstep selling, my Department has been consulting on ways to improve consumer protection when buying goods or services on the doorstep. In parallel we have been considering the impact of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), which is specifically directed at aggressive and misleading sales practices towards vulnerable consumers.
	Ministers will be considering next steps and intend to publish a final government response as soon as possible.

Electricity Supplies

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action his Department is taking to ensure security of electricity supply this winter.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government believe that security of energy supply is best delivered by ensuring that market mechanisms provide incentives to energy suppliers to meet demand. This includes financial penalties, which can be very stringent depending on the overall balance of the market, where suppliers fail to balance the amount of electricity supplied by them to the national grid with the amount of electricity used by their customers. Responsibility for deciding how best to meetdemandfor example, by restoring mothballed generating plants or building up coal stocks or back-up fuel for gas-fired power stationsrests with the electricity supply industry itself.

Energy (EU Relations)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the EU's international relations on energy issues in relation to (a) the EU-Russia energy dialogue, (b) the South East Europe energy treaty, (c) the EU-OPEC dialogue and (d) the energy charter treaty.

Malcolm Wicks: As I reported at the EU Energy Council on 1 December, a number of developments have taken place or are about to take place under the UK presidency of the EU with respect to the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue, the Energy Treaty with South East Europe EU-OPEC dialogue and the Energy Charter Treaty.
	EU-Russia Energy Dialogue
	The first EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council on Energy was held in London on 3 October. Ministers discussed the work and future programme of the fourThematic Groups on Energy Efficiency, Trade, Investment and Infrastructure. The Council endorsed an interim list of actions for the groups to take forward. The work of these groups is proving valuable to both partners in the Dialogue and allows us to engage Russia on key issues, including those that are important in the run-up to the St. Petersburg G8 summit in 2006, where energy will be a priority.
	EU-OPEC Energy Dialogue
	The overall aim of the dialogue is to promote oil market stability and improve mutual understanding. At the dialogue meeting on 2 December in Vienna, we shared perspectives on recent oil market developments and discussed issues of common interest regarding technology. Expert-level roundtable meetings are being organised to develop practical areas of co-operation.
	The EU Energy Dialogues with both Russia and OPEC are an important part of a broader approach to developing the EU's relationship with major energy suppliers. This was one of the issues discussed at the informal EU Heads of State meeting at Hampton Court on 27 October which considered the challenges of globalisation.
	Treaty establishing an Energy Community (with South East Europe)
	I am pleased to confirm the signature of this treaty on 25 October. This treaty should facilitate the reconstruction of energy infrastructure in the Western Balkans, the establishment of an efficient energy market in the region and, eventually, its integration with the EU internal market, to the mutual benefit of these countries and EU member states.
	Energy Charter Treaty
	The negotiations on a Protocol on Energy Transit have continued with increased vigour under the UK presidency but we are not in a position to announce a final protocol. A conference is to be held on 9 December.

Energy (EU Relations)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the progress made during the UK presidency on the EU's security of energy supply.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK's presidency of the EU's Council of Ministers continues until the end of December; progress to date has been made on a number of fronts. This includes:
	EU Market Liberalisation: The best means we have of ensuring our energy supplies is the development of an open and competitive EU energy market. It is for this reason that I pressed the Competition Commissioner to undertake a competition inquiry into the state of the European Energy Market in electricity and gas (announced in June 2005). The UK has also supported the Commission's report on implementation of the existing directives in electricity and gas. The interim report of the competition inquiry and the 2005 implementation report were both published on 15 November. The UK facilitated substantive discussion of the two reports at the Energy Council on 1 December, where, on the basis of presentations by Commissioners Kroes and Piebalgs, the presidency was able to conclude that secure electricity and gas supplies at competitive prices, delivered on open, transparent and competitive markets are crucial to Europe's competitiveness and that full implementation of the second electricity and gas directives was paramount.
	There have also been important steps taken on Energy Efficiency. At the UK's Energy Council on 1 December, energy efficiency was recognised as making an important contribution to all three primary energy objectives of competitive markets, security of supply and tackling climate change. Negotiations have been ongoing during the UK presidency on the Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive. We have worked hard to reach a Council position under our presidency and we expect the final agreement of the European Parliament on 14 December. In addition, we have pushed for more long-term action, facilitating discussion of the Commission's Green Paper on energy efficiency. We also held a successful conference on Energy Efficiency on 23 November in London.
	The UK has also furthered the EU's relations with external actors during our presidency, with a view to enhancing our security of supply (as per parliamentary answer 2005/2255). The UK held Permanent Partnership Council on Energy with Russia on 3 October, participated in the EU-OPEC dialogue, on behalf of the Council, in Vienna on 2 December; and facilitated the signing of a treaty establishing an Energy Community (with South East Europe), signed on 25 October. The UK has also been working with the Energy Charter Secretariat ahead of their annual conference on 9 December, particularly on the long running negotiations on a Protocol on Energy Transit.
	Finally, the potential for a European Energy policy was discussed at the Hampton Court Heads of State Informal in October. The Commission plans to take this forward through a Green Paper in 2006 and with a view to reporting to the 2006 December European Council. The EU's Security of Energy Supply will be an important feature of this document, on which the UK will continue to work with the Commission.

Energy Market Liberalisation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on liberalisation of the energy market in the EU.

Malcolm Wicks: At the Energy Council on 1 December, the Commission presented two reportsDG TREN's Report on progress in creating the internal gas and electricity market (Council Document 14800/05) and DG Competition's Energy Sector Inquiry: Issues Paperon the further development of the internal energy market and possible structural barriers to competition within this sector. These were hard hitting and outlined serious deficiencies in the market. The Council agreed on the need for more work on implementing existing legislation and on releasing more information.
	The Council also unanimously agreed that secure supplies of electricity and gas, delivered on open, transparent and liberalised markets, are crucial for Europe's competitiveness.
	I am grateful for the commitment to further action given by the Commission at the Council. We will support proposals that help to accelerate the development of the internal market and, separately, expect the Commission to take early enforcement action against any who are acting against the interests of consumers.

Energy Policy

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Government's energy (a) policy and (b) review; and when the review will be completed.

Malcolm Wicks: A written statement on the Energy Review was set before the House on 29 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1213WS. The statement contained the Review Terms of Reference, which stated that we aim to bring forward proposals on energy policy next year.
	The review team will report to my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in early summer.

Energy Review

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Energy Review will consider (a) the (i) level and (ii) targeting of research and development funding in the energy sector and (b) the role of (A) Government and (B) Ofgem in ensuring (1)security of supply, (2) affordable energy and (3)progress towards environmental targets.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 2 December 2005
	As the terms of reference of the review make clear, the Review is focussed on policy measures to help us deliver our objectives beyond 2010to maintain secure energy supplies, to tackle fuel poverty, to reduce carbon emissions and to promote competitive markets. It will consider a wide range of options, including the role of current generating technologies and new and emerging technologies. We believe that Ofgem as an independent economic regulator is central to the competitive operation of UK energy markets.

Energy Review

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the written statement on the Energy Review of 29 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1012WS, if he will list the membership of the review team; and which Department each works for.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 8 December 2005
	Iwill lead the Energy Review, which will be taken forward by a cross-departmental team.
	The review team will be based in DTI, with secondees from DEFRA, Department for Transport, HM Treasury and the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. In addition there will be input from ODPM and FCO.
	The devolved Administrations and territorial Departments are already involved and will continue to be involved throughout the course of the review.

Energy Supplies

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of total energy supply he expects (a) fossil fuels, (b) renewables and (c) nuclear to supply by (i) 2020, (ii) 2040 and (iii) 2060.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 7 December 2005
	The following table shows the DTI's November 2004 projection of percentage shares of fuels in the future energy supply mix for 2020. There are significant margins of uncertainty attached to such estimates. Estimates are not available for later years. Work to update projections is currently under way.
	
		2020
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 Fossil 91 
			 Renewable 6 
			 Nuclear 3 
			 Total 100

Energy Supplies

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what cost-benefit analyses have been undertaken on different strategies to secure sufficient energy for the United Kingdom without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Malcolm Wicks: The 2003 Energy White Paper published the results of extensive modelling of the costs of different options for reducing carbon dioxide emissions over the period to 2050. The analysis is available at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/whitepaper/phase2.pdf
	In November 2005 my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that there would be a review of energy policy which would report in summer 2006. This will involve further analysis of the costs of different options for meeting the Government's long-term targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Fuel Demand

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to provide for an increase in demand for fuel.

Malcolm Wicks: I understand that the question pertains to heating oils. My Officials are in regular contact with operators in the UK oil industry to monitor market developments and to help ensure that they are best able to meet increased demand for heating oil during the winter.
	Although production and refining capacity is still tight by historical standards, conditions in the global oil market have eased since prices spiked in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This has allowed oil and oil product stocks to build in both Europe and the US and left the market better able to cope with higher demand in the winter.

Gas Prices

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the price differentials between (a) gas spot and (b) forward prices and the impact upon energy intensive users; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The price differentials for the last three months are given in the table.
	
		
			 Average price in Spot (p per therm) Forward price for contract in quarter 4, 2005 (p per therm) Forward price for contract in quarter 1, 2006 (p per therm) 
		
		
			 September 27.5 50.8 68.7 
			 October 32.7 n/a 67.2 
			 November 80.7 n/a 81.0 
		
	
	n/a=Not applicable
	Note:
	That the forward contract for quarter 4, 2005 was not available after September 2005.
	The choice of the type of contract to enter into is a commercial decision to be made by each firm, within the context of their own risk management strategy and balancing a number of factors.
	Spot prices for November were volatile and rose, in part, due to nervousness about a tight winter supply demand balance. The Government understand that this creates tough trading conditions for energy intensive users. We will continue to work closely with industry to help, wherever possible, to mitigate the situation and reduce the impact on industrial customers, particularly large users. We are in close contact with high-energy users who have been affected by the price increases.
	The recent price spike has not had an impact on all of industry. For example, for the less energy intensive users contracts with suppliers may be on a fixed price basis which are lower than the EU average.

Heat Pumps (Grants)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what grants are available for the replacement of old boilers with ground source heat pump systems; what the average grant awarded is; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Under the Clear Skies Programme grants of 1,200, regardless of system size, are available for the installation of ground source heat pumps.

Hydro-power

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money the Government have invested in hydro-power technologies in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: It has not been possible to collate all public expenditure and other Government support since 1997 for hydropower in the time available at proportionate cost. However, it is possible to detail direct DTI expenditure on hydropower for these years through the New and Renewable Energy Programme. This are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   
		
		
			 199697 142,000 
			 199798 57,000 
			 199899 80,000 
			 19992000 138,000 
			 200001 60,000 
			 200102 130,000 
			 200203 200,000 
			 200304 85,000 
			 200405 0 
		
	
	There have also been sums allocated to Community and Household projects through the Clear Skies scheme. Grants have been allocated for hydro projects totalling; 200304 67,000, 200405 187,955 and 200506 95,880.

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the (a) total and (b) net cost of (i) integrating the proposed identity card scheme into his Department's IT systems and (ii)the ongoing operation of the scheme within his Department.

Alan Johnson: The Department has not finalised current best estimates of the cost of using the ID Cards Scheme to support the services which it oversees.

Inward Investment

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of inward investment grants made to English regional development agencies was in each year since 2001; and how these grants are dealt with in the allocation of expenditure as identifiable or non-identifiable in his Department's public expenditure statistical analyses.

Alun Michael: The total value of inward investment grants made to the English regional development agencies by UK Trade and Investment since 2001 is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Grant ( million) 
		
		
			 200102 12.78 
			 200203 12.93 
			 200304 12.93 
			 200405 13.23 
			 200506 15.23 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Grants to individual regional development agencies are made via the single pot formulaic distribution method.
	2.The grants to the regional development agencies are classified as non-identifiable in the 2005 public expenditure statistical analyses.

Isle of Grain Gas Terminal

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what limit there is on the number of companies that can use the liquefied natural gas import facilities at the Isle of Grain terminal.

Malcolm Wicks: There is no limit on the number of companies that can use the LNG import facilities at the Isle of Grain. The primary capacity has been auctioned by the terminal owner, and is fully contracted to two parties. If they do not use their contracted capacity, it should be made available to other parties under use it or lose it (UIOLI). Under the regulatory regime applying to this terminal, enforced by Ofgem, the terminal owner is required to facilitate UIOLI arrangements. On 5 December Ofgem announced that the terminal owners and primary capacity owners are improving the arrangements for transparency and UIOLI at the Isle of Grain facility.

IT Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many IT projects which cost over 1 million and were introduced since 1997 are in use in his Department.

Alan Johnson: Due to a change in the Department's accounting system during 200304, and the devolved nature of the ICT, consistent data on the number of IT projects cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost.

Low Carbon Building Programme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the 30 million funding package recently announced for the Low Carbon Building Programme is expected to be spent (a) on programmes and (b) across the six-year period outlined in the June consultation paper.

Malcolm Wicks: 1.5 million of the 30 million funding package has been brought forward to extend the Clear Skies and PV programmes. 28.5 million will be spent over three years on the Low Carbon Buildings programme, which is due to start in April 2006.
	Long term commitment to the micro-generation sector needs to be seen in the wider context of the micro-generation strategy (to be published April 2006) that will seek to tackle some of the non grant barriers that are currently hindering development of a sustainable micro-generation market.

Maladministration

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many payments for maladministration have been made by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies, (c) its non-departmental public bodies and (d) other bodies for which his Department has responsibility in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: It is the policy of my Department, its agencies, and the non-departmental public bodies it sponsors, to make financial redress in accordance with the guidance set out in Chapter 18.7 and Annexes 18.1 and 18.2 of Government Accounting. However, the information requested for these organisation is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Manufacturing/Processing Industries

Kitty Ussher: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what Government assistance is available to (a) small and (b) large manufacturing firms in Burnley and Padiham.

Alun Michael: holding answer 6 December 2005
	Manufacturing firms in Burnley and Padiham are eligible for financial support from a range of schemes available throughout the north west. For SMEs these include the grant for research and development and a variety of venture capital funds. In addition, manufacturing firms in parts of Burnley and Padiham are also eligible for selective finance for investment and the north west business investment scheme for SMEs.
	A range of non-financial assistance is available from Business Link and the Manufacturing Advisory Service. The latter is funded by DTI and delivered in the north west by the Manufacturing Institute. It offers the region's manufacturing firms free diagnostic visits and support for projects to help boost performance and competitiveness. The North West Development Agency is also proposing to develop an advanced manufacturing centre on the former Michelin site.
	Businesses across the country were recently involved in enterprise week. This encouraged young people to become involved in enterprise and develop entrepreneurial skills. There were many events in the north west, of which six tailored for organisations rather than individuals took place in Lancashire, including the 'Arts for Enterprise: Gallery Glass' event, which was held in Burnley and aimed to encourage adults to utilise often under-used materials for window decorations.

Manufacturing/Processing Industries

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment he has made of the (a) state of and (b) future prospects for (i)manufacturing industry and (ii) process industries in (1) Hartlepool constituency, (2) the Tees Valley sub-region and (3) the North East Region.

Alun Michael: The Government is committed to supporting a high value, high skill manufacturing sector, capable of introducing new products and processes into the economy, creating new markets, and improving the prosperity of the regions. The manufacturing and process industries within Hartlepool, the wider Tees Valley and North East region are demonstrating the transition to higher value manufacturing, competitive within global marketsincluding through the newly formed North East Process Industries Cluster (NEPIC). The Government is also encouraged to see the high profile which the manufacturing and process sectors in the Tees Valley have within the North East's Regional Economic Strategy, and the work of ONE North East and local partners.

Maternity Payments (Adopters)

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will increase maternity payments to adopters in line with those paid to natural parents.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since its introduction in April 2003, statutory adoption pay has been paid at the same standard rate and for the same length of time as statutory maternity pay (SMP) and maternity allowance (MA). We intend to continue the existing approach as we increase both the standard rate and the payment period. The Work and Families Bill will enable us to meet our commitment to extend the payment period of SMP, MA and SAP from the current 26 weeks to 39 weeks from April 2007, with an ambition to extend to one year by the end of this Parliament.

Micro-generation

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent in financial year 200506 under each micro-generation installation scheme; and what the projected spend for this full financial year is for each scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is as follows.
	
		Clear Skies -- 
		
			 200506 Amount 
		
		
			 Spend 1,977,599 
			 Allocated 2,029,320 
			 Total(13) 4,006,919 
		
	
	(13)Projected spend for 200506.
	
		Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme -- 
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 Spend 5,141,374 
			 Allocated 8,854,206 
			 Total(14) 13,995,580 
		
	
	(14)Projected spend for 200506.

Miners (Compensation)

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to accelerate the process of providing compensation to the widows and families of deceased miners; and if he will make a statement on the waiting time for compensation.

Malcolm Wicks: Two fast-track processes have been introduced to the respiratory disease scheme, one specifically for claims concerning deceased miners. These processes have enabled an additional 60,000 claims to be settled in the last nine months, for total compensation in excess of 125 million. We anticipate that fast-track payments could be made to a further 75,000 claimants, mainly in respect of deceased miners. These changes to the schemes should result in the time taken to settle all claims to be reduced by two years.

Nuclear Power

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to make a statement on Government policy on the nuclear industry.

Malcolm Wicks: The recently announced energy review will be bringing forward proposals next year on energy policy to help us deliver our medium and long-term objectives. The review will be examining a wide range of options including civil nuclear power.

Nuclear Power

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which companies have expressed an interest in (a) building and (b) operating a new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK.

Malcolm Wicks: Many companies regularly express interest publicly in a variety of energy infrastructure projects that relate to a number of different generating technologies, including nuclear, renewables, gas and carbon capture and storage.

Nuclear Power

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the future of nuclear power.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 7 December 2005
	The recently announced Energy Review will bring forward proposals next year on energy policy to help us deliver our medium and long-term objectives. The Review will be examining a wide range of options including civil nuclear power.

Ofgem

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will amend the remit of Ofgem to require it to give more encouragement to (a) decentralised energy and (b) low-carbon technologies.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 8 December 2005
	Ofgem's general duties already require them to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development as well as to have regard for the environment when making their decisions. The Secretary of State has also issued social and environmental guidance to Ofgem which allows them to contribute to broader Government policies without compromising the principle of independent regulation. There is therefore no need to amend their statutory duties. Government are committed to providing a framework which allows markets to make long term investment decisions with confidence. Stability and regulatory certainty are an important part of this. Changing the well understood duties of the regulator would inject unwelcome uncertainty in energy markets.

Open Cast Mining

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what guidance he has issued to successor companies to British Coal on their position under exemptions in relation to restoring open cast coal working on their sites;
	(2)  what level of bond operators of open cast sites are required to hold to enable restoration of sites to be carried out;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the impact on former coal areas of British Coal being exempt from providing restoration bonds since it was privatised.

Malcolm Wicks: No guidance has been issued nor assessment made in relation to these matters. Where site restoration bonds are required, the level will be determined by the relevant mineral planning authority in light of the specific circumstances of the site concerned.

Peninsular Power Ltd.

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what evidence he took into account in satisfying himself, for the purposes of its application for a grant under the Bio-energy Capital Grants scheme, that Peninsular Power Ltd. had access to adequate financing to complete the proposed project relating to a biomass energy generator at Winkleigh in Devon;
	(2)  what evidence he took into account in satisfying himself, for the purposes of its application for a grant under the Bio-energy Capital Grants scheme, that Peninsular Power Ltd. was (a) credible, (b) possessed the right skills and track record and (c) were organised in an appropriate manner to ensure the project to construct a biomass energy generator at Winkleigh in Devon was well planned and managed.

Malcolm Wicks: Peninsula Power, as applicants under the scheme, met all laid-down criteria for a developer company to demonstrate availability of finance before the issue of a grant offer letter. Peninsula Power also demonstrated at the application stage that that they would have access to the required project development skills and experience.
	Any offer of grant under the Bio-energy Capital Grants scheme remains an undertaking of support for an agreed period of time. The development of bio-energy projects is a complex process and the offer is subject to evidence of timely progress on a range of milestones. The milestones to be achieved before any grant drawdown could be triggered, include evidence of availability of adequate finance, securing of planning consent, and development of biomass fuel supply chains.

Peninsular Power Ltd.

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has been made to (a) Torridge district council and (b) Devon county council concerning the grant of planning permission to Peninsular Power Ltd. in respect of a biomass energy generator at Winkleigh in Devon.

Malcolm Wicks: No representations have been madeby DTI Energy Group to either Torridge district council or Devon county council. National policy on development of renewable energy projects is set out in Planning Policy Statement 22.

Peninsular Power Ltd.

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade andIndustry what discussions he has had with the South West Regional Development Agency about the payment of public funds to cover Peninsular Power Ltd.'s costs associated with the project to construct a biomass energy generator, which are not eligible under the Bio-energy Capital Grants scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: DTI routinely discuss matters of common interest with regional authorities and agencies regarding the projects it is supporting within their regions. Here, SWRDA funded elements of this project not eligible under the capital grants scheme from their own budgets as part of their own local bio-energy strategy.

Regional Development Agencies

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how best practice and key incentives are proactively shared between the regional development agencies; what regular meetings are held at board and operational levels; and if he will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The RDAs proactively share best practice and information on key incentives and initiatives at both senior and operational levels. For example at senior level the chairs of the agencies meet every six weeks to discuss their collective agenda and one of the standing items on the agenda is a best practice slot where two chairs will give presentations on projects from their own RDA. Copies of the presentation are circulated to all RDAs after the meeting, and are available upon request. Chairs also meet with Government Ministers every six weeks and there is a regional showcase item on the agenda. One of the chairs will give a presentation on a key initiative that illustrates the broader theme of the meeting. For example the chair of the East of England development agency recently gave a presentation on higher education provision in the region as part of a wider discussion on the skills agenda.
	The RDA directors meet their peers quarterly to discuss issues of mutual interest and best practice. There are six groups covering the following areas; strategy, finance, communications, enterprise, development (regeneration) and skills.
	At operational level there are a number of networks that support the RDA directors, including one, whose purpose is to support best practice in relation to RDA performance management, reporting and evaluation framework.
	In addition, at operational level there are a number of networks that support the RDAs in their lead roles. These groups communicate mainly through e-mail, but will meet occasionally to discuss common issues and share best practice. The areas the groups cover include; planning, transport, sustainable development, diversity, and the voluntary and community sector.
	The RDAs have established the Office of Project Advice and Training jointly with English Partnerships and the Welsh Development Agency which aims to promote best practice in project appraisal, delivery and evaluation. The office has both a technical and strategic role. The technical role is to develop and share best practice in project appraisal, delivery and evaluation, and to disseminate this advice within the agencies and their partners. The strategic role is to influence and advise both Departments and agencies on the implications of new responsibilities and government initiatives based on their technical knowledge and expertise in project processes and agency procedures. This helps avoid duplication of effort, maximises the use of resources and so achieves value for money.
	Following the publication of the Egan report all RDAs have established regional centres of excellence which will help RDA staff and regeneration practitioners share and promote best practice in their work. The regional centres will work closely with the National Centre, which is being established in Leeds.
	Best practice is shared among representatives from the RDAs responsible for managing Business Link in the regions at the Business Link Implementation Group. Recommendations from that group are ratified by the Business Link Strategy Board, which is made up of representatives from the RDAs that have a wider responsibility for co-ordinating the delivery of business support in the regions.

Renewable Energy

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average grant awarded for school renewable energy projects was under his Department's Clearskies programme.

Malcolm Wicks: 71 schools have been offered grant funding totalling 1,152,596, this equates to an average of 16,234 per school.

Skilled Workers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government are taking to reduce the loss of skilled workers to areas outside the European Union.

Alan Johnson: The mobility of skilled people is positive and beneficial for career development and the UK is making significant gains as a result of such international mobility. Recent research shows that almost all highly cited UK academic staff who went abroad subsequently returned and that the UK was one of the most dynamic and highly regarded locations for higher education careers. In fact the UK was a magnet for both young researchers at the beginning of their careers as well as established academics, gaining 40 per cent. more staff than it lost over an eight-year period, from highly cited academics to postdoctoral staff.
	In addition, we have introduced several initiatives to encourage foreign national students to stay on after education in the UK by raising PhD stipends, improving professional training in PhDs, improving postdoctoral pay and conditions and developing entrepreneurship.

Small Business Research Initiative

Kitty Ussher: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library the guidelines issued to all Government Departments in implementing the mandatory small business research initiative.

Alun Michael: The guidelines issued to Government Departments regarding the small business research initiative are currently being revised. A copy of the revised guidance will be placed in the Library shortly.

Sunday Trading

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received about the extension of Sunday trading hours; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We have received representations from a range of stakeholders on the issue. My officials are preparing a cost-benefit analysis of the case for further liberalisation of the Sunday trading laws.

Sunday Trading

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government have to extend the six hour limit on Sunday trading by large stores.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Officials are carrying out a full cost benefit analysis of the scope for further liberalisation of Sunday trading. To assist in this we are inviting independent researchers to carry out a thorough assessment of the effects of liberalising Sunday trading in whole or in part, including the impact on jobs, retailers, the needs of consumers and the impact on economic growth. The Government will then come forward with proposals, after discussions with businesses, consumers, religious groups and employees.

Tourist Industry

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment he has made of the (a) state of and (b) future prospects for the tourist industry in (i) Hartlepool constituency, (ii)the Tees Valley sub-region and (iii) the North East Region.

Alun Michael: Since 1 April 2003, the English Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have had strategic responsibility for tourism. This has helped to unlock a whole range of benefits for the industry, including clearer business support and links to wider services and resources.
	One NorthEast recently commissioned research by Global Tourism Solutions into the economic impact of tourism in the North East. This showed that in 2004:
	tourism in Hartlepool is worth 39 million and supports 900 jobs (Full Time Equivalents);
	in Tees Valley, tourism was worth 339 million and supported around 7,000 jobs;
	in the North East region, tourism was worth 1.8 billion and supported around 38,000 jobs;
	a total of 8.7 million overnight tourists visited the region in 2004, a 3 per cent. increase on the previous year.
	North East England Tourism Strategy, published in January 2005, sets out the region's target to increase tourism by 1.3 million domestic visits and 0.7 million visits per annum by 2010 against the baseline year of 2003.
	One NorthEast investment in tourism continues through its capital programme, and activities in regional marketing, business development, strategic planning and project development. For example, it is expected that Tees Valley will benefit from:
	20 million new investment at Durham/Tees Valley airport
	Development of the Coastal Arc
	Regeneration of Darlington Town Centre worth 200 million
	Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, 15 million project (currently under construction)
	One NorthEast is also investing 7 million over the next three years in a strategy to improve the image of North East England, a campaign which was awarded the World Travel Award for the world's best regional marketing campaign.

Trading Standards

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he plans to relocate certain responsibilities for supervision of trading standards from local to central Government.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As announced in the pre-Budget report on 5 December the Government will set up the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) to work in partnership with national regulators and Trading Standards and Environmental Health Departments within local authorities to deliver a risk based approach to business inspection and enforcement.
	Service delivery will remain at a local level led by Trading Standards and Environmental Health. The LBRO will be tasked with building on existing good practice to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of local authority regulatory services, promoting and supporting risk based approaches at a local level and minimising the inspection burden on business. It will develop a co-ordinated strategy for all Trading Standards and Environmental Health enforcement and inspection activities affecting businesses that operate in more than one local authority area, building on existing arrangements with local authorities continuing to play a lead role.

Zirconium Silicate (Iran)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether an export of zirconium silicate from the UK to Iran requires an export licence.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 6 December 2005
	Zirconium silicate may be controlled under entry 1C234 of the EC Regulation, as follows:
	Zirconium with a hafnium content of less than 1 part hafnium to 500 parts zirconium by weight, as follows: metal, alloys containing more than 50% zirconium by weight, compounds, manufactures thereof, waste or scrap or any of the foregoing. Note: 1C234 does not control zirconium in the form of foil having a thickness of 0.10mm or less.
	Additionally, its export may potentially be controlled, on a case by case basis, where the goods are to be used in connection with a WMD programme.

Zirconium Silicate (Iran)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which UK agencies are investigating the circumstances relating to the interception by the Bulgarian authorities at the beginning of September of a truck travelling from the UK to Iran, containing zirconium silicate; and whether these investigations are (a) separate from and (b) in conjunction with investigations by the Bulgarian authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 6 December 2005
	Investigation of alleged breaches of UK export controls are the responsibility of HM Revenue and Customs. However I believe the goods in question were not controlled under UK export controls and did not therefore require an export licence.

DEFENCE

Blake Inquiry Report

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the report of the inquiry by Nicholas Blake QC into the investigations of the deaths of young soldiers at Deepcut to be published.

Adam Ingram: Nicholas Blake's plan is to publish his report after the House returns in January. His report will be published in full, as will my response to it.

Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary) Project

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the landing ships dock (auxiliary) project.

Adam Ingram: The Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary) project continues to make progress towards the completion of the four Bay Class vessels. Mounts Bay, the first ship built by BAE Systems in Glasgow, has begun her final sea trials prior to the Ministry of Defence acceptance. Build and testing continues on the remaining three ships.

Friendly Forces (Identification)

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to improve identification in combat of friendly forces.

Adam Ingram: Combat Identification is a vital element of combat effectiveness and we constantly seek to improve our capability which involves tactics and training as well as technology. Recent steps include fielding a Coalition Blue Force Tracking system for helicopters and the Bowman communications system. We also take account of operational experience, and for example are following up as a matter of priority the recommendations of the recently completed Board of Inquiry into the Challenger blue-on-blue incident in Operation Telic.

BAE Systems Puriton

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of BAE Systems Puriton.

Adam Ingram: I am aware that BAE Systems Land Systems have announced that their site at Puriton near Bridgwater is to be closed as part of the company's rationalisation plans. This is a commercial decision for the company and we are satisfied with the alternative arrangements they intend to put in place.

Arctic Emblem

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with the introduction of the Arctic emblem.

Don Touhig: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently met Commander Eddie Grenfell at his request to discuss the Arctic Emblem. Commander Grenfell had submitted a design of his own for consideration. We have since sent him a developed version of this design and I understand he is consulting his fellow veterans.
	Once the design has been agreed, we can progress with the contract and manufacturing stages, after which the Emblem will be despatched to eligible veterans. We have already received a number of applications.

Iraq

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security situation in Iraq.

John Reid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer Igave earlier today.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date he first asked Sir Ronnie Flanagan to investigate policing in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: I asked Sir Ronnie Flanagan on 21 October, in his capacity as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, to conduct the review of policing in Iraq.

Iraq

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what remit has been given to Sir Ronnie Flanagan for his review of the Iraqi police force; when his report is due; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: holding answer 8 December 2005
	We keep progress on Security Sector Reform under close review and as part of that process we have asked Sir Ronnie Flanagan to provide both his objective assessment of the UK's policing programme in Iraq, and recommendations as to how to increase the effectiveness and neutrality of the wider Iraqi Police Service. SirRonnie has not yet concluded his assessments but we expect that he will report early in the new year.

Relief Effort (British Armed Forces)

Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role British armed forces are playing in aid and rebuilding efforts in countries affected by natural disasters.

John Reid: The United Kingdom armed forces provide humanitarian assistance in support of the Department for International Development. For example, we have provided significant and wide ranging assistance to the Pakistan earthquake relief effort, which has included: three heavy lift Chinook helicopters, a specialist 86-man light engineering team, a four-person mobile medical team, four logistics planners, three C-130 transport aircraft as part of the NATO air-bridge, and 24,000 vegetarian and halal ration packs.

Recruitment

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on recruitment trends for the UK armed forces.

Don Touhig: In the first six months of this financial year the armed forces gained 8,810 new recruits from civilian life. This represents 47 per cent. of the recruiting target and is comparable to the position at the same point last financial year.

Recruitment

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on recruitment trends in the UK armed forces.

Don Touhig: In the first six months of this financial year the armed forces gained 8,810 new recruits from civilian life. This represents 47 per cent. of this year'srecruiting target. This level of achievement is comparable to the position at the 6-month point in the last financial year.
	Although armed forces recruitment is an area of concern, the level of interest and the number of applications has increased in recent months. It is now a matter of converting this interest into actual recruits. The Services continue to undertake numerous and varied initiatives, both at national and local level, aimed at increasing the level of recruitment.
	A sustained Recruiting Training and Retention Plan is providing a coordinated focus on Royal Marine recruiting.
	Infantry recruiting has now been highlighted as a main effort for the Army. In January 2006 an Infantry recruiting multi-media recruiting campaign is planned. The campaign is in the early days of development but will be designed to demonstrate the exciting and rewarding lifestyle and ethos of the Infantry.
	Recruitment remains buoyant across all branches and trades within the RAF.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Don Touhig: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission continues its important work worldwide in maintaining around one and three quarter million war graves and memorial commemorations to Commonwealth Service men and women who died in the two world wars.

War Memorials (Redevelopment)

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to protect war memorials in buildings being redeveloped.

Don Touhig: Where a building is to be redeveloped, any war memorial is considered as part of the planning process.
	We work closely with regimental associations and other interested parties to ensure that memorials in buildings being redeveloped are either incorporated within the refurbished building or moved to a suitable new location.
	If the memorial is within a listed building, or is itself listed, the local authority must be approached for listed building consent prior to removal and appropriate re-siting.

Defence Export Service Organisation

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Defence Export Service Organisation maintains records in its (a) UK offices and (b) overseas offices of the occasions on which it has provided lists of agents to customers.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Export Services Organisation occasionally receives requests for lists of agents. When received, such requests are treated in the same way as other routine requests for information, responses to which are not, in general, put on the record.

Investment Appraisals Board

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how decisions of the Investment Appraisals Board are (a) recorded and (b) implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Investment Approvals Board considers proposals for major investments in equipment, estates, support and business change projects and, where appropriate, makes recommendations to Ministers as to whether such investments should be approved. Recommendations take the form of submissions to Ministers or, for lower value projects, advice within their delegated powers to project owners to proceed or otherwise. There is no Investment Appraisals Board.

Landing Ships Dock Project

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary) Project.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary) Project.

Adam Ingram: The Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary) project continues to make progress towards the completion of the four Bay Class vessels. Mounts Bay, the first ship built by BAE Systems in Glasgow, has begun her final sea trials prior to The Ministry of Defence acceptance. Build and testing continues on the remaining three ships.

Territorial Army

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army personnel qualified for their 10 years' continuous service medal in each of the past 10 years.

Don Touhig: The Volunteer Reserves Service Medal, instituted on 31 March 1999, is awarded for 10 years reckonable continuous service. The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 1999 1,375 
			 2000 1,001 
			 2001 917 
			 2002 810 
			 2003 593 
			 2004 319 
			 2005 46 
			 Total 5,061

Relief Effort (Pakistan)

Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how the UK armed forces have assisted the relief effort in Pakistan.

Adam Ingram: UK armed forces have provided significant and wide-ranging assistance to the Pakistan earthquake relief effort. This has included three heavy lift Chinook helicopters, a specialist 86-man light engineering team, a four-person mobile medical team, four logistics planners, three C-130 transport aircraft as part of the NATO air-bridge, and 24,000 vegetarian and halal ration packs.

White Phosphorus

Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions white phosphorus weapons have been used by British forces during the invasion and occupation of Iraq; and at what level of command their use was authorised.

John Reid: British armed forces have used white phosphorus on Operation Telic in Iraq primarily as a smoke screen to provide cover and thus protection for our soldiers, or for target illumination. Its use in Iraq is a tactical decision authorised by commanders on the ground. Although white phosphorus does have a recognised anti-personnel effect, our armed forces go to great lengths to ensure that civilian and non-combatants are not harmed during operations; guidelines issued to British military personnel on its use emphasise that it should not be deployed as an anti-personnel weapon. Information on the number of occasions it has been used by British armed forces in Iraq is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Expenditure

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much the Cabinet Office and its agencies have spent on (a) the design and production of new logos and (b) employing external (i) public relations and (ii) graphic design agencies in each year since 2000, broken down by project.

Jim Murphy: The following table details the projects and the amount the Cabinet Office has spent on the design and production of new logos, employing external public relations agencies and employing external graphic design agencies since 1 April 2004. The figures are exclusive of VAT.
	The Cabinet Office does not hold central records for this activity before 1 April 2004 and to provide the information requested before that date would incur disproportionate costs.
	
		
		
			 Project Amount 
		
		
			 Design and production of new logos  
			 200405  
			 Development of Equalities Review Team 2,050.00 
			 Development of Leaders UK logo 500.00 
			 Development of Preparing for Emergencies logo 17,000 
			 Development of Government Communications Network logo 9,780.00 
			 200506  
			 Development of Government Communication Network Live logo 15,622.00 
			   
			 Employing external PR agencies  
			 200405  
			 Public Relations support for the Better Regulation Taskforce (BRTF) 34,250.00 
			 200506  
			 Public Relations support for the Better Regulation Taskforce (BRTF) 68,630.00 
			 Employing external design agencies  
			 200405  
			 Design of Government Social Research leaflet 854.00 
			 Design of Government Social Research exhibition stand 872.50 
			 Design and production of departmental Welcome Magazine 2,739.28 
			 Design of internal Government Car and Despatch Service leaflet 427.00 
			 Design and production of Government Car and Despatch Service annual report 12,292.00 
			 Design of guide for children attending charity receptions at 10 Downing Street 1,109.00 
			 Design of Civil Service Survey poster 1,700.00 
			 Design of template for cross departmental reports 7,800.00 
			 Layout of Better Regulation Taskforce annual report 2,290.00 
			 Design of Public Appointments Unit induction folder 1,000.00 
			 Design and layout of RIU transposition 1,100.00 
			 Redesign of Regulatory Impact Unit Code 60.00 
			 Design of e-Envoy School and Community Sport report 1,675.00 
			 Design of Regulatory Impact Unit Bereavement report 2,457.50 
			 Design of Regulatory Impact Unit Direct Payment report 693.00 
			 Design of CSIA Infosec Competencies 1,187.50 
			 Design of Fast Stream Times Top 100 entry 750.00 
			 Design of Fast Stream case studies and copy writing 450.00 
			 Design of Fast Stream flow chart 470.00 
			 Design services Fast Stream report cover 472.50 
			 Design and layout of Fast Stream competencies 270.00 
			 Redesign of Public Appointments Unit binder cover/spine 392.00 
			 Redesign of Ministerial Group pack cover 200.00 
			 Design of Regulatory Impact Unit report 596.50 
			 Design of Online Graduate Recruitment Service 1,500.00 
			 Design of Work Foundation Report 899.00 
			 Design of Work Foundation Case Studies 755.00 
			 200506  
			 Design of Central Sponsor for Information Assurance leaflets 110.00 
			 Layout of Fast Stream recruitment leaflet 315.00 
			 Design of Cabinet Office exhibition stand 870.00 
			 Design of internal Cabinet Office newsletter Issue 378 900.00 
			 Design of internal Cabinet Office newsletter Issue 376 1,187.00 
			 Design of internal Cabinet Office newsletter Issue 377 815.00 
			 Design of display panel for IT professional launch 475.00 
			 Redesign of OPSR Booklet 958.00 
			 Design of Public Appointments Unit electronic newsletter 360.00 
			 Design of Public Appointments Unit Play a Part newsletter 400.00

IT Projects

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many IT projects have been developed for his Department since 2001; and whether he has agreed to make public the Gateway Reviews for these projects (a) in full and (b) in part.

Jim Murphy: According to available records, the number of information technology projects developed for my Department since 2001 is 120. The figure is based on IT projects developed or enhanced since April 2001 and includes corporate and business unit specific IT projects.
	I have not agreed to make public either in full or in part, the Gateway Reviews for those IT projects which have gone through the Gateway Review process.

Nuclear Power (Birt Report)

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the report produced by Lord Birt on nuclear power.

Jim Murphy: There is no such report.

PRIME MINISTER

Appointments

Ben Wallace: To ask the Prime Minister when he will appoint a Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Tony Blair: The appointment of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will be announced in due course.

Broadcasting (Illegal Jamming)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister whether in his bilateral discussions with President Colonel Gadaffi he (a) sought and (b) obtained assurances that access to Libya and the region by Western television and radio services via satellite communication would not be impeded by Libyan authorities or official agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I have discussed a number of bilateral and international issues with Colonel Gadaffi. Internationally the Government continue to work to eliminate barriers to freedom of expression and information and to create an environment in which free speech and a free media flourish. The British ambassador in Tripoli has also raised the issue with the Libyan authorities at a senior level.

Citygate Public Affairs Ltd

David Davies: To ask the Prime Minister what meetings his Office has held with Citygate Public Affairs Ltd. since July.

Tony Blair: My Office does not maintain a central list of such contacts. Ministers and civil servants, including special advisers, meet many people as part of the process of policy development and business delivery. All such contacts are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, Civil Service Code, Code of Conduct for Special Advisers and Guidance for civil servants on contacts with lobbyists and people outside Government.

Departmental Expenditure

Martin Horwood: To ask the Prime Minister how much the office and its agencies have spent on (a) the design and production of new logos and (b) employing external (i) public relations and (ii) graphic design agencies in each year since 2000, broken down by project.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr.Murphy) today.

Departmental Property

Michael Weir: To ask the Prime Minister how much was paid by his Department in 200405 in rent for properties.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Prime Minister how much his Office paid in rates in 200405.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I have therefore asked my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Jim Murphy) to reply. A copy of the reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Energy Review

Peter Law: To ask the Prime Minister what considerations underpinned his decision to launch the energy review at the Confederation of British Industry conference.

Tony Blair: I made my speech at the Confederation of British Industry conference following the written ministerial statement made earlier that morning by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Alan Johnson), 29 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1213WS.

Extraordinary Renditions

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Prime Minister when he was first informed that the United States was conducting international renditions of terrorist suspects; and what representations he has made to the US administration on such renditions.

Tony Blair: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answers I gave the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Mr. Kennedy) at Prime Minister's Questions on 7 December 2005, Official Report, column 86263.
	I also refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary (Jack Straw) today.

Guantanamo Bay

Peter Law: To ask the Prime Minister what reports he has received on the compliance with the Geneva human rights accords in respect of the United States detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.

Tony Blair: The United States Government regard the detainees at Guantanamo Bay as enemy combatants under the Laws of War and not as Prisoners of War under the Geneva Convention.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr.Winnick), at Prime Minister's Questions on 7 December 2005, Official Report, column 867.

Invoice Payments

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister on what occasions his office did not pay valid invoices (a) within 30 days and (b) after the agreed credit period within financial year 200405.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I have therefore asked my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Murphy) to reply. A copy of the reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Ethiopia

Tim Farron: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make representations to Meles Zenawi on the human rights situation in Ethiopia.

Tony Blair: I, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) and my noble Friend the Foreign Office Minister for Africa (Lord Triesman) have raised concerns about the current situation in Ethiopia with Prime Minister Meles over recent months.
	I have also asked Lord Triesman to reiterate my concerns to Prime Minister Meles when he visits Ethiopia later this month.

Ministerial Travel

Greg Hands: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1661W, on ministerial travel, which aspects of travel on the London Underground are covered by the code;
	(2)  pursuant to his answers of 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1661W and 5 December 2005, Official Report, column 1038W, on ministerial travel, what account he takes of the guidance document Travelby Ministers in deciding whether to travel by underground on official business.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1661W and 5 December 2005, Official Report, column 1038W.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Hoon) during the Business Statement on 8 December 2005, Official Report, column 1006.

Opinion Research/Public Relations

Michael Weir: To ask the Prime Minister what the total value was of (a) public opinion research and (b) public relations contracts awarded by his Department in 200405 in (A) each (i) nation and (ii) region of the UK and (B) London.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I have therefore asked my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Jim Murphy) to reply. A copy of the reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Terrorism

Grant Shapps: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer of 9 November 2005, Official Report, column 298, to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard), and his answer of 5 December 2005, Official Report, column 1039W, on terrorism, if he will estimate the number of police officers required to analyse 750 gigabytes of data within a 90-day period.

Tony Blair: As I set out in my answer to the hon. Member on 5 December 2005, Official Report, column 1038W, the decision on the number of police officers deployed to focus on a particular area of an investigation, such as analysing data, is the responsibility of the chief constable of the force concerned.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Olympic Games

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to enhance the skills base to enable people to participate in sustainable construction for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Phil Hope: ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council responsible for recruiting and training the UK's construction work force, has announced a special teamConstructing London 2012to deliver locally available construction skills to build the Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure operating as part of the Strategic Forum Olympic Task Group. Constructing London 2012 will work with partners to recruit and train local people ensuring that building the Olympic infrastructure provides sustainable skills and job opportunities for people resident in East London through a range of newly targeted initiatives.
	In addition, the recently announced Construction National Skills Academy will have a significant impact on developing construction skills for the Olympic infrastructure and other London-based construction projects. One of its first on-site centres is expected to be launched in the Thames Gateway area during the last quarter of 2006.
	A significant proportion of ConstructionSkills' 2006 Inspire Scholarships will be targeted on Olympic projects. These provide around 9,000 to support undergraduates on construction-related degree courses through university.

Academies

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new providers have expressed an interest in funding new academies; how much each such provider has indicated it may make available; which authorities each is interested in operating in; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The Department for Education and Skills has spoken to in excess of 230 organisations and individuals about sponsorship of academies. In general, academy sponsors are required to provide 10 per cent. of the capital costs of establishing an academy, up to a cap of 2 million. This can be from a single organisation or individual or a group of sponsors. It is not possible to state how much each potential sponsor has indicated it may make available. Discussions with potential sponsors may focus on the programme as a whole or on specific academies. As such it is not possible to state which authorities each is interested in operating in.

Adult Education

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State forEducation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1613W, on adult education, what percentage of colleges charged fees to adults for a first full level 2 course, in each year since 200102.

Bill Rammell: Reliable Information about the prior qualifications of learners, that would enable us to identify those who have paid tuition fees for a first full level 2 qualification, is not available at a college level for the years since 2001/02. Information is available about those studying for a full level two qualification and paying tuition fees but not whether such qualifications are a first level 2 qualification for the individual.
	In a recent survey of learners 1 in FE a third of learners on a first full level 2 course said they paid fees.
	1 Prior Qualifications of Adult Learners in Further Education. DfES Research Report 677.

Agency Staff

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the costs of (a) temporary and agency staff and (b) consultants fall within (i) gross administration costs and (ii) staff costs as referred to on page 12 of the Resource Accounts 200405.

Maria Eagle: The treatment of such costs in the Department's Resource Accounts follows standard Government accounting conventions. The cost of temporary and agency staff fall within both gross administration costs and staff costs. The costs of consultants may be charged to either gross administration costs or programmes depending on the nature of the work on which they are engaged. Where consultants are charged to administration costs, they are treated outside staff costs.

Basic Skills Agency

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her answer of 29 November 2005, Official Report, column 475W, on the Basic Skills Agency, if she will list the local authorities which are not members of a Quality Mark partnership.

Phil Hope: The local authorities which are not members of a Quality Mark partnership are:
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Camden
	City of London
	Cumbria
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Haringey
	Herefordshire
	Isles of Scilly
	Lewisham
	Rutland
	Solihull
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Westminster
	Windsor and Maidenhead
	Wokingham

Behaviour and Attendance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if she will list the schools included in the Primary National Strategy's Behaviour and Attendance Pilot; and how they were selected;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the progress and findings of the Primary National Strategy's Behaviour and Attendance Pilot;
	(3)  what guidance her Department has produced for schools on Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: 25 local authorities were selected to take part in the Primary National Strategy Behaviour and Attendance pilot on the basis of social deprivation and geographic spread. Steering groups within each authority selected the schools to be involved. Participation was voluntary.
	The pilot had four strands: curriculum materials to develop children's social, emotional and behavioural skills; different models of local authority support for schools where behaviour or attendance was a key issue; small group interventions for children needing extra help with social, emotional and behavioural skills; and behaviour and attendance audit and staff training materials. Different schools piloted different combinations of these strands.
	Within the pilot 253 primary schools took part in the piloting of the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) curriculum resource for at least a year. A list of these schools has been placed in the Library.
	About 100 primary schools tested different models of local authority support. A similar number piloted small group interventions. All primary schools in the pilot authorities were encouraged to trial the audit and training materials.
	The Primary Behaviour and Attendance pilot has been evaluated by London University's Institute of Education. Their report found evidence of positive impacts on behaviour and learning. We therefore decided to make enhanced versions of the SEAL and audit and training materials available to all primary schools.
	The SEAL materials became available in June 2005. They provide a structured, whole-curriculum resource together with clear guidance for staff on how to use it. Using the SEAL resource is entirely voluntary, but there has been a high level of demand from schools. Over half of all primary schools have now ordered it.

Building Schools for the Future

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which local authorities have received money under the Building Schools for Future programme; and how much each has received.

Jacqui Smith: Local authorities will receive monies under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme after their particular projects achieve contract signature. None have reached this stage yet, but we anticipate the first contract signatures to take place in 2006. There are 17 authorities in pathfinder and wave 1 (200506) of BSF and for this approximately 2.2 billion has been allocated; there are 11 authorities in wave 2 and 11 in wave 3, and again approximately 2.2 billion has been allocated for each wave. It is not possible to be more specific as the allocations to individual authorities were indicative and would weaken the competitive tendering process. If a bidder (or bidders) knows the value of a project when it goes to market, i.e. an allocation of 75 million to build three schools, there is the possibility that they will all price their bid at around this mark, rather than a truly competitive price.

Building Schools for the Future

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions she has had with other Government Departments concerning using the Building Schools For The Future funds for providing sports facilities.

Jacqui Smith: Building Schools For The Future (BSF) aims to renew all secondary schools in England in 15 waves of investment starting from this year. This can include new and refurbished sports facilities. Our aims include making high quality sports facilities in schools available to the wider community.
	BSF was developed in consultation with a large number of other Government Departments. Its aims on sport have been discussed with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and with other bodies including Sport England. My colleague, Lord Adonis, has regular meetings with the Minister of State for Sport which include discussion of sports provision in schools through the programme.

Building Schools for the Future

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will ring-fence funding for sport in the Building Schools for the Future budget.

Jacqui Smith: Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is a long-term strategic programme to renew and rebuild secondary schools in England and to bring about educational transformation over 15 waves of investment starting this year. It would restrict the successful delivery of new school facilities were we to ring-fence funding through BSF for sport, or indeed for any other aspect of a successful school. Existing provision for sports will vary from authority to authority and school to school.
	BSF requires local authorities and schools to have the widest visions of what can be achieved across a group of schools. We set out clear expectations and guidance as to what our aims are in terms of the type of facilities that schools could provide. This includes an expectation that pupils will have access to 21st-century sports facilities, which can be shared with the local community. It is best that local authorities and schools then have the flexibility to achieve this in a way that is most appropriate for their local circumstances.

Building Schools for the Future

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will ensure that the Building Schools for the Future budgets includes funds for Olympic sport facilities.

Jacqui Smith: Building Schools for the Future (BSF) funding is for investment in secondary school buildings in England. Facilities for the Olympic Games in 2012 are separately funded. BSF aims include new and refurbished sports facilities in schools, which will be available to the wider community.

Bullying

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she is taking to work with the police, education authorities and schools to combat bullying.

Jacqui Smith: We work with all three of the police, education and local authorities to combat bullying, both directly and through the DfES funded work of the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA). The Department works with particular groups of police on particular projects. For example, we have worked with Leicester city police on countering racist bullying and with Haringey police on countering homophobic bullying. The police have been involved in anti-bullying week.
	The nine ABA regional co-ordinators work with statutory and voluntary organisations with an interest in tackling bullying, and in all regions this includes the police.
	We have published guidance for local authorities and schools on specific aspects of tackling bullying. Through our conferences we have offered a platform to share good practice and learn from the most successful.
	The ABA has established regional network partnerships of lead officers from 146 local authorities in the nine Government office regions. These promote best practice and develop innovative and practical approaches to tackle bullying at a strategic level.
	Anti-bullying work has a high profile within the national strategies behaviour strands. There are secondary national strategy behaviour and attendance consultants in every LA working directly with schools to tackle a range of behaviour issues including bullying.

Careers/Connexions Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the running costs (a) were of the careers service in the last year of its operation and (b) have been of the Connexions service in each year since it was set up; and what assessment she has made of these costs.

Maria Eagle: I set out the annual budgets of the careers service and the Connexions service since 199495 in my answer of 16 November 2005, Official Report, column 1282W to the hon. Member. We do not hold separate information on the running costs of the careers service or Connexions service. However, we commissioned an independent study in 2003 which estimated that the total administrative costs (including such things as training, communications, transport for outreach work and ICT) of Connexions Partnerships as a percentage of total costs was 25 per cent.
	Connexions does of course deliver more than a careers service. We have been consulting on proposals to embed its information, advice and guidance (IAG) and targeted support work more firmly in integrated services for young people.

Education (Southend-on-Sea)

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average A level point score per candidate was in Southend-on-Sea local authority for each year from 1997 to 2005.

Jacqui Smith: The A Level average point scores per 16 to 18-year-old candidate for Southend-on-Sea local authority can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  APS per candidate 
		
		
			 1997/98 17.2 
			 1998/99 17.8 
			 1999/2000 17.8 
			 2000/01 17.7 
			 2001/02 272.6 
			 2002/03 257.3 
			 2003/04 293.9 
			 2004/05 308.3 
		
	
	Point score calculations
	1997/981999/2000: The average GCE A/AS point score per student entered for the equivalent of 2 or more A/AS examinations, with a point score based on the following tariff:
	
		Table 1
		
			 A Level AS AGNVQ 
			 Grade Points Grade Points Grade Points 
		
		
			 A 10 A 5 Distinction 18 
			 B 8 B 4   
			 C 6 C 3 Merit 12 
			 D 4 D 2   
			 E 2 E 1 Pass 6 
		
	
	2000/01: The average point score per student entered for at least one A level or Advanced GNVQ, based on the points tariff shown in table 1.
	2001/02: The average GCE/VCE A/AS point score per student. The point score for each grade are as follows (based on the UCAS points tariff).
	
		Table 2
		
			 GCE/VCE AS GCE/VCE A level VCE A level Double Award Score 
		
		
			   AA 240 
			   AB 220 
			   BB 200 
			   BC 180 
			   CC 160 
			   CD 140 
			  A DD 120 
			  B DE 100 
			  C EE 80 
			 A D  60 
			 B   50 
			 C E  40 
			 D   30 
			 E   20 
			 N/U/X N/U/X U 0 
		
	
	2002/032004/05: The average GCE/VCE A/AS and key skills point score per candidate. Points are as in table2 but with a key skill at Level 3 pass equivalent to 20 points.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of the relevant cohort in Doncaster North is eligible for an education maintenance allowance, broken down by ward.

Maria Eagle: It is not possible to accurately estimate what percentage of young people will be eligible for education maintenance allowance (EMA) at sub-national level. However, for the academic year 2005/06, we estimate that around 55 per cent. of young people in full-time education nationally will be eligible for EMA. Eligibility in Doncaster local education authority as a whole is likely to be higher than this.

Free School Meals

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils there were on (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools rolls in (i) England, (ii) London and (iii) each London borough in each of the last five years; and how many (A)took and (B) were eligible for free school meals in each case.

Jacqui Smith: The requested information has been placed in the House Libraries.

Free School Meals

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in Doncaster North constituency receive free school meals; and what the figures were in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools(15): school meal arrangements, 1997 to 2005, position in January each year, Doncaster North parliamentary constituency
		
			  Number on roll(16) Number of pupils taking free school meals Percentage taking free school meals Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school means Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals 
		
		
			 Maintained nursery and primary   
			 1997 9,294 2,469 26.6 2,822 30.4 
			 1998 9,470 2,149 22.7 2,595 27.4 
			 1999 9,314 2,038 21.9 2,456 26,4 
			 2000 9,166 1,963 21.4 2,264 24.7 
			 2001 8,951 1,828 20.4 2,123 23.7 
			 2002 8,871 1,698 19.1 2,006 22.6 
			 2003 8,620 1,572 18.2 1,907 22.1 
			 2004 8,501 1,606 18.9 1,865 21.9 
			 2005 8,335 1,410 16.9 1,737 20.8 
			   
			 Maintained secondary
			 1997 4,535 752 16.6 1,279 28.2 
			 1998 4,563 647 14.2 1,180 25.9 
			 1999 4,651 675 14.5 1,107 23.8 
			 2000 4,721 632 13.4 1,116 23.6 
			 2001 4,756 598 12.6 990 20.8 
			 2002 4,845 470 9.7 929 19.2 
			 2003 4,927 518 10.5 905 18.4 
			 2004 5,005 539 10.8 863 17.2 
			 2005 4,988 507 10.2 848 17.0 
		
	
	(15)Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(16)Prior to 2003 includes dually registered pupils and excludes boarding pupils, from 2003 onwards includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils.
	Note:
	Based upon school level numbers of pupils who had a free school meal on 20 January 2005.
	Source:
	Annual Schools Census.

Gifted Pupils

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many members of the National Academy of Gifted and Talented Youth there are in each school in Worcestershire.

Jacqui Smith: This information is set out in the following table. Membership of the National Academy is available to pupils aged 11 to 19 in the top 5 per cent. nationally.
	
		Worcestershire LEA area schools
		
			  NAGTY members 
		
		
			 Secondary  
			 Arrow Vale Community High School 0 
			 Baxter College 0 
			 Bewdley High School and Sixth Form Centre 1 
			 Bishop Perowne C of E High School 0 
			 Blessed Edward Oldcome Roman Catholic High School 1 
			 Christopher Whitehead High School 0 
			 Droitwich Spa High School 0 
			 Dyson Perrins C of E High School 6 
			 Elgar Technology College 14 
			 Evesham High School 0 
			 Hagley Roman Catholic High School 78 
			 Hanley Castle High School 0 
			 Haybridge High School and Sixth Form 296 
			 King Charles I School 0 
			 Kingsley College 118 
			 Malvern, The Chase 55 
			 Martley, The Chantry High School 52 
			 North Bromsgrove High School 18 
			 Nunnery Wood High School 1 
			 Pershore High School 58 
			 Prince Henry's High School 3 
			 South Bromsgrove Community High School 0 
			 St Augustine's Catholic High School 0 
			 Stourport High School-Language College 0 
			 Tenbury High School 0 
			 Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre 30 
			 Waseley Hills High School and Sixth Form Centre 1 
			 Wolverley High School 0 
			 Woodrush Community High School 0 
			   
			 Middle Deemed Secondary  
			 Alvechurch C of E Middle School 0 
			 Aston Fields Middle School 0 
			 Bewdley Wribbenhall Middle School 0 
			 Bewdley, St Anne's Middle School 5 
			 Bredon Hill Middle School 46 
			 Bromsgrove, Catshill Middle School 0 
			 Bromsgrove, Parkside Middle School 0 
			 Evesham, Blackminster Middle School 0 
			 Evesham, Simon de Montfort Middle School 0 
			 Evesham, St Egwin's C of E Middle School 0 
			 Ipsley C of E Middle School 0 
			 Kidderminster, Birchen Coppice Middle School 0 
			 Kidderminster, Comberton Middle School 0 
			 Kidderminster, Franche Middle School 8 
			 Kidderminster, Sion Hill Middle School 0 
			 Kidderminster, St John's C of E Middle School 1 
			 Redditch, Birchensale Middle School 10 
			 Redditch, Church Hill Middle School 0 
			 Redditch, Dingleside Middle School 0 
			 Redditch, Ridgeway Middle School 0 
			 St Bede's Catholic Middle School 1 
			 St John's C of E Foundation Middle School 0 
			 Stourport-on-Severn, Burlish Middle School 0 
			 Stourport-on-Severn, Lickhill Middle School 0 
			 The Sladen C of E Middle School 0 
			 Walkwood C of E Middle School 1 
			 Windmill C of E Middle School 0 
			 Woodfield Middle School 0 
			   
			 Community Special  
			 Blakebrook School 0 
			 Chadsgrove School 0 
			 Manor Park School 0 
			 Pitcheroak School 0 
			 Redgrove School 0 
			 Rigby Hall Day Special School 0 
			 Riversides School 0 
			 Rose Hill School 0 
			 Stourminster Special School 0 
			 Thornton House School 0 
			 Vale of Evesham School 0 
			   
			 Independent  
			 Abberley Hall School 0 
			 Abbey College 0 
			 Bowbrook House School 0 
			 Bredon School 2 
			 Bromsgrove School 4 
			 Green Hill School 0 
			 Heathfield School 0 
			 Holy Trinity School 2 
			 Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiya School 0 
			 Madresfield Early Years Centre 0 
			 Malvern College 0 
			 Malvern Girls' College 1 
			 New Elizabethan School 0 
			 Royal Grammar School 1 
			 Saint Michael's College 0 
			 St James's School 1 
			 St Mary's Convent School 17 
			 Sunnyside School 0 
			 The Alice Ottley School 92 
			 The King's School 1 
			 The Knoll School 0 
			 The River School 0 
			 Whitford Hall and Dodderhill School 0 
			 Winterfold House School 0 
			   
			 Non-Maintained Special  
			 RNIB New College, Worcester 0 
			   
			 Independent School Approved For SEN Pupils  
			 Sunfield School 0 
			 Total(17) 925 
		
	
	(17)NAGTY Membership in Worcestershire

Gifted Pupils

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of children from each secondary school in Eddisbury have joined the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth.

Jacqui Smith: This information is set out in the following table. Membership of the National Academy is available to pupils aged 1119 in the top 5 per cent. nationally.
	
		
			 School name Type of establishment Total pupils NAGTY members Percentage of members 
		
		
			 Bishop Heber High School Community 1,092 0 0.0 
			 Hebden Green Community School Community special 113 0 0.0 
			 Jonagold School Independent special 7 0 0.0 
			 Lambs Grange School Independent special 18 0 0.0 
			 Oaklands School Community special 115 0 0.0 
			 Tarporley Community High School Community 1,034 40 3.9 
			 The Verdin High School Community 200 0 0.0 
			 Woodford Lodge High School Community 641 0 0.0

Grammar Schools

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in (a) Kent and (b) Buckinghamshire attend (i) grammar schools and (ii) secondary schools which are not grammar schools.

Jacqui Smith: The requested information is given in the table.
	
		Maintained secondary schools and city technology colleges(18): Full-time equivalent number and percentage of pupils by type of school(19) as at January 2005Kent and Buckinghamshire local authority areas
		
			  Kent LA Buckinghamshire LA 
			  Number(20) Percentage(21) Number(20) Percentage(21) 
		
		
			 Grammar schools 31,256.0 31.2 14,849.0 42.7 
			 Other maintained secondary schools 67,565.5 67.4 19,961.0 57.3 
			 City technology colleges 1,379.0 1.4 (22) (22) 
			 Total 100,200.5 100.0 34,810.0 100.0 
		
	
	(18)Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(19)Excludes dually registered pupils.
	(20)Full-time equivalent numberpart-time pupils are counted as 0.5.
	(21)The number of pupils by school type expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils in maintained secondary schools, academies and city technology colleges.
	(22)Not applicable; no schools of this type.
	Source:
	Annual Schools Census

Head Teachers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she is taking to reduce the burden of administration on head teachers.

Jacqui Smith: First we are determined that head teachers have the time and support to provide good leadership to manage their schools. That is why from the start of this school year every head teacher has a contractual entitlement to dedicated headship time. Head teachers must have dedicated time to lead their schools, as well as manage them.
	And with the right leadership much school management can be delegated effectively. Through our workforce remodelling agenda we are supporting schools in recruiting very many numbers of administrative and support staff to free school leaders to lead and teachers time to teach. This ensures the best use of resources to improve outcomes for children.
	We are also establishing a new relationship with schools; this will strip away clutter and bureaucracy in schools. Key aspects include the introduction of an improved and streamlined data collection system, more user-friendly communications (ordering publications online when the schools require them rather than when DfES sends them out automatically) and fewer of them; and a Single Plan from which Ofsted and other bodies will draw on information about the school and its performance. This will make the planning process more coherent and less time-consuming.
	We remain determined to make sure our policies have the maximum impact on standards with the minimum burden on head teachers. That is why we have announced in the recent Schools White Paper that the independent Implementation Review Unit, (IRU) will continue to serve until at least 2008. The IRU, which is a group of practising head teachers and senior staff in schools will therefore continue to scrutinise our policies and ensure that we understand the impact of our initiatives on schools and how best to introduce them from a schools perspective.

Higher Education

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) the cash cost and (b) the resource cost for income contingent loans for full-time higher education students was in England in 200304; and what the equivalent allocations are for (i) 200506, (ii) 200607 and (iii) 200708.

Bill Rammell: Student loans are budgeted and accounted for using resource costs: forecasts of future cash expenditure on student loans are used only to help cash management in the Department and across Government.
	(a) The cash costs for income contingent loans for full-time higher education students are shown in table 1.
	
		Cash cost/allocations of Maintenance and Fee Loans (England and Wales) --  million
		
			 Financial year Amount 
		
		
			 200304 (23)2,399 
			 200405 (23)2,474 
			 200506 (24)2,679 
			 200607 (24)3,290 
			 200708 (24)4,050 
		
	
	(23)Outturn.
	(24)Allocation.
	Note:
	Table 1Cash costs/allocations for income contingent loans for full-time higher education students.
	The figures are given for England and Wales because the cash implications of the devolution of student support to the National Assembly for Wales from Academic Year 2006/07 have yet to be completed.
	(b) The resource costs for income contingent loans for full-time higher education students are shown in table 2.
	
		Resource cost/allocations (England and Wales)(25) --  million
		
			 Financial year Maintenance loans Fee loans 
		
		
			 200304 745  
			 200405 755  
			 200506 598  
			
			 Resource allocations England(26) 
			 200607 572 141 
			 200708 576 349 
		
	
	(25)DfES Departmental Annual Report 2005, table 12.2.
	(26)DfES DAR 2005, table 12.2, adjusted to take account of Wales Devolution (England only).
	Note:
	Table 2Resource costs/allocations for income contingent loans for full-time higher education students.
	Resource costs/allocations are shown for England and Wales prior to the devolution of student support to the National Assembly for Wales in financial year 200607, and for England only thereafter.
	From financial year 200506 the student loans resource accounting and budgeting charge is reduced as a result of the change in the Treasury Discount Rate from 3.5 per cent. to 2.2 per cent. This affects comparison of resource costs between financial year 200405 and financial year 200506.

Learning and Skills Council

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2005, Official Report, column 598W, on the Learning and Skills Council, why the figure for the administration costs in 200405 differs from that provided in Learning and Skills Council Annual Report and Accounts 200304.

Bill Rammell: The apparent difference is presentational and the following table shows the separate components that made up the LSC Administration costs for the 200304 LSC Annual Accounts, and the answer of 9 November. The costs in both cases total the same. The difference is that the LSC Accounts show five categories under the Administration heading. The written reply of 9 November has combined three of these categories, Depreciation, Loss on Disposal, and Loss on Impairment categories into one.
	
		000
		
			  200304 
			  Admin costs LSC accounts LSC admin costs written answer of 9 November 2005 
		
		
			 Staff Costs 149,097 149,097 
			 Other Costs 82,937 82,937 
			 Depreciation 13,946  
			 Loss on disposal of obsolete fixed assets 157  
			 Loss on Impairment 2,996  
			 Depreciation, impairment and losses  17,099 
			 Total Administration costs 249,133 249,133

Learning and Skills Council

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 28November 2005, Official Report, column 178W, on the Learning and Skills Council, what the reason is for the difference between the sum reported for expenditure on Local Intervention and Development in the answer and the total expenditure on Local Intervention and Development reported in the Learning and Skills Council Annual Report and Accounts 200405.

Bill Rammell: The figures in the following table are from the statutory accounts and are correct. The reason for the discrepancy with the figures quoted pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 178W on the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is that, for operational purposes, the LSC combine the Learner Participation and Local Intervention and Development Fund (LIDF) into one budget. The reporting of these budgets separately is purely for statutory reporting purposes and cannot be accurately disaggregated.
	
		000
		
			  Financial year 200405 Statutory accounts Answer 28 November 2005 
		
		
			 Learning Participation 6,396.6 6,548.7 
			 School Sixth Forms 1,654.8 1,654.8 
			 Local Intervention and  Development 278.0 125.9 
			 Capital 372.3 372.3 
			 Administration 233.2 232.9 
			 AME 20.8 20.8 
			 Total 8,955.7 8,955.4

Learning and Skills Council

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 178W on the Learning and Skills Council, what the reason is for the difference between the figures reported and the figures in the Learning and Skills Council Annual Report and Accounts 200405.

Bill Rammell: pursuant to the reply, 28 November 2005, Official Report, c. 178W
	On the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) I confirm that the figures in the following table from the LSC 200405 statutory accounts and are correct. The reason for the discrepancy with the figures quoted in the answer on 28 November is that for operational purposes the LSC combine the Learner Participation and Local Intervention and Development Fund (LIDF) into one budget and some 152.1 million appropriate to LIDF was included under Learning Participation. The disaggregation of these budgets is purely for statutory reporting.
	
		000
		
			  Financial year 200405 Statutory accounts Answer 28 November 2005 
		
		
			 Learning Participation 6,396.6 6,548.7 
			 School Sixth Forms 1,654.8 1,654.8 
			 Local Intervention and  Development 278.0 125.9 
			 Capital 372.3 372.3 
			 Administration 233.2 232.9 
			 AME 20.8 20.8 
			 Total 8,955.7 8,955.4

Missing Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in local authority care were reported missing from care to the police in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) local authority area, (b) age and (c) sex.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Department. Details of looked after children with at least one missing placement, in the years ending 31 March 19942004 may be found on theDepartment's website at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000569/index.shtml.

National Curriculum

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will amend the national curriculum in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools to include a section that informs students of the benefits of wearing seat belts; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: There is sufficient scope within the non-statutory framework for personal social and health education for schools to explore road safety, including the wearing of seat belts. The Department has issued Safety Education: Guidance for Schools to support schools in developing effective approaches to teaching and learning in safety education.

Parental Rights

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether she plans to shift the legal presumption in legal disputes concerning parental rights towards providing a more equal balance between mothers and fathers; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: There is no statutory presumption concerning parental rights in the Children Act 1989. Instead, the Act requires the court to have the welfare of the child as its paramount consideration in determining any question relating to his or her upbringing. It is clear that, in general, the children of separating parents will benefit from ongoing meaningful relationships with both of their parents, so long as these are safe and in their best interests. However, we believe that the addition to the Children Act 1989 of a statutory presumption focused on parental rights would lead to a move away from the current clear focus on the needs of children and towards focusing on the wishes of parents. We consider such a move to be harmful to the interests of children.

Post-16 Education

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of teenagers in Doncaster North have stayed in education after reaching 16 years of age in each year since 1995.

Bill Rammell: The percentage of 16-year-olds in full-time education at the end of 2004 was estimated to be 73.3 per cent.the highest ever rate. Percentage figures on participation in education by young people are not available for parliamentary constituencies, but are available for local authoritiesincluding Doncaster LEA. These were published in the Statistical First Release Participation in education and training by 16and 17-year-olds in each local area in EnglandSFR11/2005 published on 31 March 2005.
	The publication is accessible on the DfES website via the link, http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000568/index.shtml
	The specific figures are available through the following link: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000568/SFR112005tables_lea.xls

Post-16 Education

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the learning participation and school sixth forms categories of the grant letter equate to the adults and young people categories of the Learning and Skills Council annual report and accounts 200405.

Bill Rammell: I confirm that the learning participation and school sixth forms categories of the 200405 LSC grant letter do equate to the adults and young people categories in the LSC annual report and accounts 200405.

Prison Education

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2005, Official Report, column 946W, on prison education, what proportion of the 1.05 million for higher education and access to higher education courses for offenders in custody is expected to be spent on fees for external tutors attending prisons.

Phil Hope: On the basis of information up to June, the Open University have estimated that up to 140,000 may be spent on fees for external tutors during 2005.

School Buildings Repair

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the backlog of school buildings repair and maintenancework in Southend; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Based on data supplied to the Department by the Authority in 2003, schools in Southend have repair and maintenance requirements of 20 million. Costs have been updated to current costs. In addition to backlog repair work, the figure covers work needed over a five year period from the dates of the assessments, including cyclical and scheduled maintenance.
	Southend and its schools have been allocated nearly 26 million of capital support over the next three years (200508).

School Improvement Partners

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) pay levels and (b) gender balance will be of school improvement partners who (i) are also serving head teachers and (ii)are not head teachers but are drawn from the complement of local authority educational advisory and related staff.

Jacqui Smith: Pay levels are not determined centrally, because school improvement partners work under contract to the maintaining authorities of the schools with which they work. In each case it is for the authority to negotiate the pay level, either with the school improvement partner or with the school improvement partner's employer. We have no plans to set up central records of pay levels.
	The gender balance of the school improvement partners is not determined in advance. At present there are school improvement partners for about one fifth of the secondary schools in England. The numbers, broken down by gender, are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Women Men 
		
		
			 Serving head teachers 28 57 
			 Local authority educational advisory staff 39 39 
			 Independent consultants 6 7 
			 Total 73 103 
		
	
	Among those who are not head teachers, there is nogender imbalance. Among the head teachers, the proportions of men and women match closely the proportions among secondary head teachers as a whole:
	
		
			  Women Men 
		
		
			 Percentage of secondary head teachers  (2003) 32.5 67.5 
			 Percentage of secondary head teacher school  improvement partners 32.9 67.1

School Nursing

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school nurses there were in England in each of the past 10 years.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	School nurses were counted fully for the first time in the September 2004 national health service work force census, which showed that there were 2,409 qualified nurses working as school nurses. The next count will be available from the September 2005 census.

Schools (Haringey)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in Hornsey and Wood Green are expected to run a deficit in the 200506 financial year; what the reasons given for a forecast deficit are in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not yet available. The Department is due to collect the section52 outturn data relating to the 200506 financial year from October 2006.

Secondary Schools (Ethnic Composition)

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the ethnic composition is of the pupil population at each secondary school in the (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Greater Manchester Metropolitan area.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.

Sector Skills Bodies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills why the Learning and Skills Council received more grant-in-aid in 200405 from her Department than initially set out in the grant letter for that period.

Bill Rammell: Following the issue of the grant letter for 200405 we identified the need for additional resources to enable the LSC to deliver what the Department required. The key components of this additional resource were for local infrastructure and development, school sixth forms, learner participation, education maintenance allowance and a technical increase in the administrative budget to cover depreciation and cost of capital (previously carried on the Department's accounts). This increased the LSC's overall funding form the grant letter budget of 8,674 million to a total expenditure of 8,955 million.

Student Loans

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people normally resident in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland in the last six years applied for a student loan through the Student Loans Company.

Bill Rammell: The number of students domiciled in England, and Wales receiving a student loan from the Student Loan Company in academic years 2000/01 to 2005/06 (provisional as at 23 November 2005) is given in the table.
	
		Domicile of student
		
			  Thousand 
			  England Wales 
		
		
			 2000/01 605 38 
			 2001/02 646 41 
			 2002/03 670 42 
			 2003/04 683 43 
			 2004/05 692 42 
			 2005/06 (provisional) 691 42 
		
	
	Source:
	Student Loans Company
	Data include loans taken out for both mortgage style loans and student support scheme loans but exclude fixed rate part-time loans as equivalent data are not available.
	The numbers of loan applications which the question asks for are not available for mortgage style loans, therefore, the number of full-time loans taken out has been provided for both loan types included in the table; applications for loans will be marginally higher than loans taken out
	Data relating to students domiciled in Scotland are the responsibility of the Scottish Executive and have not been included with the answer.

Student Violence

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the frequency of violent acts committed by students in (a) England and (b) London;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the percentage of violent acts committed by students (a) previously disciplined for violent acts or other disciplinary infractions and (b) who have no previous disciplinary record in 200405.

Bill Rammell: Information on violent acts committed by Further and Higher Education students is not collected centrally.

Sure Start

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what total public expenditure has been on Sure Start in the period 1999 to 2005; and how much the national evaluation of Sure Start has cost to date.

Beverley Hughes: Details of annual expenditure since 1999 on Sure Start, child care and nursery education are published in Table 12.2 of the Department for Education and Skills' Departmental Report (Cm 6522), as follows. To reflect the increasing integration of services for young children and families, from 200304 funding for child care and nursery education was merged into Sure Start.
	
		
			 Financial year Sure Start Child care Nursery education Total 
		
		
			 19992000 7 56 150 213 
			 200001 56 65 247 368 
			 200102 134 109 224 467 
			 200203 216 158 306 680 
			 200304 721 721 
			 200405(27) 927 927 
		
	
	(27)Outturn in DfES Resource Accounts 200405 (HC 686)
	A comprehensive national level evaluation of Sure Start local programmes (SSLPs) is examining the implementation, cost-effectiveness and impact of Sure Start for children, families and communities. It also provides support to SSLPs on their local evaluations. The National Evaluation runs from 2001 to 2008 and will cost 20.3 million in total.

Teachers

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 192W, on teachers, what assessment she has made of the reasons for some schools not yet successfully introducing planning, preparation and assessment time.

Jacqui Smith: We have now validated the successful implementation of planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time in 95 per cent. of all schools in England. However, we are aware of only three schools that are not yet fully compliant. Each case identified has been very different and colleagues from the National Remodelling Teamand its network of regional and local advisershave worked and continue to work with individual schools to find workable, practicable and sustainable solutions to particular difficulties or issues they may have encountered.
	This support has been supplemented by advice and guidance from our social partners on the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group.

Teachers

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers on extended sick leave are within (a) six months, (b) one year, (c) eighteen months and (d) two years of the official retirement age.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not held centrally.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol-related Crime

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made by the British Transport police for (a) selling alcohol or attempting to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk, (b) selling alcohol or attempting to sell alcohol to an individual under 18 years, (c) being drunk and disorderly, (d) being drunk and incapable and (e) violence against the person, broken down by British Transport police area in each year for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of arrests for being drunk and disorderly, being drunk and incapable, and for violence against the person is given in the following table. The information requested in parts (a) and (b) can be provided by the British Transport police only at disproportionate cost. There is no offence of drunk and disorderly behaviour in Scotland.
	
		Number
		
			 Offence category BTP Area 19992000 200001 200102 200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 Drunk and Disorderly London North 60 103 73 102 108 99 
			  London South 69 80 99 91 141 116 
			  London Underground 42 44 54 62 98 112 
			  North Eastern 95 178 157 167 171 104 
			  North Western 117 117 82 126 162 104 
			  Wales and Western 66 94 113 101 114 108 
			  Force Total 449 616 578 649 794 643 
			 
			 Drunk and Incapable London North 10 12 7 5 11 4 
			  London South 5 7 18 5 7 7 
			  London Underground 4 2 2 2 0 4 
			  North Eastern 1 1 2 0 7 5 
			  North Western 5 2 3 3 1 0 
			  Scottish 2 4 6 7 8 6 
			  Wales and Western 12 20 21 10 15 13 
			  Force Total 39 48 59 32 49 39 
			 
			 Violence against the person(28) London North 144 234 216 251 324 365 
			  London South 325 364 369 390 424 455 
			  London Underground 299 265 307 359 411 491 
			  North Eastern 78 113 141 126 159 185 
			  North Western 139 129 134 199 220 205 
			  Scottish 25 20 21 28 56 47 
			  Wales and Western 121 167 195 193 241 284 
			  Force Total 1,131 1,292 1,383 1,546 1,835 2,032 
		
	
	(28)It should be noted that changes in the National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS) in 2002 led to a rise in the number of crimes recorded.

Asylum/Immigration

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 14 July 2005, Official Report, column 1215W, on asylum seekers, what recent reassessment he has made of this policy.

Tony McNulty: The situation is unchanged. Asylum seekers who make their application for asylum in Northern Ireland may receive support, including accommodation, there. However Northern Ireland is not currently a dispersal area.

Asylum/Immigration

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many calls made to the hotline for hon. Members at the immigration and nationality directorate were made by each hon. Member in each year since 2001.

Tony McNulty: The number of calls made to the immigration and nationality directorate's (IND) MPs' hotline are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2002 23,712 
			 2003 26,952 
			 2004 31,393 
			 2005 (to 30 November) 31,546

Border Management Programme

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to evaluate the effectiveness of the border management programme.

Tony McNulty: The White Paper One Step AheadA 21st Century Strategy to Defeat Organised Crime tasked HM Revenue and Customs, IND and the police to work together to develop options for providing more effective border controls through enhanced inter-agency co-operation.
	The border management programme is intended to develop this capacity for more effective working between the agencies in order to maximise border security whilst minimising the impact on legitimate traffic. The programme commenced a number of trials in early 2005 to test various aspects of shared working at the border.
	Emerging findings are being considered and plans for further development of the programme and implementation are currently being established. These will include arrangements for further review, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation processes.

Chronic Back Pain

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what initiatives are being taken in his Department to help civil servants with chronic back pain.

Charles Clarke: The Home Office with its Executive agencies has put in place a number of initiatives and arrangements to help civil servants with chronic back pain and promote employee health and wellbeing more generally. These initiatives include fast-track access to assessment and treatment for those with back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders, workstation assessments to ensure correct posture, and manual handling training to reduce the risk of back injury.

Correspondence

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green of 5 July, 19 July and 5 October 2005, regarding a constituent Mr. Rastgouy; what the average response time to hon. Members' inquiries to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate is; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Director-General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) wrote on 21 November 2005. The average time taken in 200405 to answer Members' letters on IND-related matters was 32 days.

Correspondence

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 10 August from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham about Mr. and Mrs. Bloxham of Sompting, West Sussex.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 2 December 2005
	Ireplied to the hon. Member on 6 December 2005.

Correspondence

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letters of 9 September and 9 November 2005 from the hon. Member for Richmond Park concerning Mr. John Maurice Mubita, reference: M1203172.

Tony McNulty: I replied to the hon. Member on 30 November 2005.

Correspondence

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister of State for Immigration will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green of 28 September 2005 on behalf of Mr. Fredjan Prenga (Home Office ref: P1044999/correspondence reference PREN004/CJB).

Tony McNulty: The Director-General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate replied to the hon. Member's letter of 28 September 2005 to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate on 27 October. I wrote to the hon. Member in reply to her letter to me of 2 November on 6 December.

Custodial Sentences (Southend)

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) minors and (b) adults normally resident in Southend are serving custodial sentences.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information is not recorded centrally on the home address of prisoners in England and Wales. Information is, however, held on the court that a prisoner is committed to or sentenced at.
	On 31 October 2005 there were 1,006 sentenced prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales who were sentenced at courts in Essex, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system. 880 of these were adults and 126 were young adults or juveniles (i.e.aged between 15 and 20).

Custody Leavers (Judicial Review)

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many judicial reviews have been carried out in the last three years of local authority decisions about the care of young people coming out of custody.

Fiona Mactaggart: The requested information in not held centrally.

Departmental Properties

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid by his Department in 200405 in rent for properties in (a) total, (b) each (i) region and (ii) nation of the UK and (c) London.

Charles Clarke: This information is not held centrally and could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Properties

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid by his Department in rates to each local authority in the UK in 200405; and how much was paid in (a) each (i) nation and (ii) region of the UK and (b) London.

Charles Clarke: This information is not held centrally and could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.

Deportation

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals residing in Scotland have been (a) issued with deportation orders and (b) subject to forced returns to Iraq in each month since May 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office does not currently hold or record this specific data required and is unable to collate data by areas within the United Kingdom to the level of detail requested to give an accurate response to this request.

Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration cases there have been involving alleged domestic violence in a foreign country in the past three years.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	There are no statistics kept on entry clearance applications made overseas by individuals who might have been involved in domestic violence.
	Although it is possible that some individuals seeking entry clearance for the UK may be victims of domestic violence, there is no provision under the immigration rules for entry to the UK on these grounds. There is therefore no requirement or incentive for an applicant seeking entry clearance at any of our visa issuing missions overseas to declare that they have been subject to domestic violence, as their applications will be considered on other grounds.

Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have been made under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 since its introduction; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The measures within the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 are being introduced gradually and as resources become available. The new powers of arrest, which the Act creates under section 10(1) have not been implemented in England and Wales, so data on the number of arrests for domestic violence related incidents under these powers are not available. However, once the new powers of arrest are implemented data will be routinely collected.
	Currently, as part of the Police Performance Assessment Framework, all police forces are required to collect data on the percentage of arrests for domestic violence where a power of arrest already exists. Additionally, from April 2005 we have introduced a Key Diagnostic Indicator, which will compare these figures against the Crown Prosecution Service figures for the number of prosecutions related to domestic violence. An analysis of the figures will be available on a quarterly basis from each Local Criminal Justice Board area.

Electronic Tagging

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in Milton Keynes are electronically tagged on early release from prison.

Fiona Mactaggart: As of 13 October, the number of prisoners released on the Home Detention Curfew scheme (HOC) from HMP Woodhill was 12. The area in which electronically tagged prisoners reside upon release is not recorded centrally.

Freedom of Information

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Freedom of Information applications his Department has received; how many have taken more than 20 days to process; and how many of these gave rise to complaints about the time taken.

Charles Clarke: The Freedom of Information Act came into effect on 1 January 2005. Between January and June 2005 the Home Office received 1,047 Freedom of Information requests. Of these requests 486 (46 per cent.) were replied to within deadlines permitted within the Act, 358 (34 per cent.) being within the 20 working day period. It took longer than 20 working days to process 561 (54 per cent.) of requests for information. The Department is aware of 11 internal review requests solely in relation to the time taken to respond to requests.
	The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) is committed to publishing quarterly updates in relation to departmental performance under Freedom of Information, including information on both the volume and outcomes of requests. The bulletin for the second quarter was published on 30 September 2005 and can be found on the DCA website at http://for.gov.uk/statsapr-jun05.htm and in the Library. The next bulletin will be published before Christmas, while an annual report will be published in early 2006.

Home Detention Curfew Scheme

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners released on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme in each year between 19992000 and 200405 had re-offended as at 31 August 2005; and how many offences such prisoners committed in each year.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information as to re-offending while subject to Home Detention Curfew (HDC) is set out in the following table. Statistics as to re-offending by prisoners released on HDC once they have left the scheme are not available.
	
		
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005(29) Total 
		
		
			 Number released on HDC 14,760 15,515 13,649 20,457 21,197 19,311 11,598 116,487 
			 Number of offenders who committed an offence while subject to HDC 319 231 218 394 1,196 1,349 348 4,055 
			 Percentage of those released who committed an offence while subject to HDC 2.2 1.5 1.6 1.9 5.6 7.0 3.0 3.5 
			 Number of offences committed by those offenders 648 372 408 699 2,138 2,269 537 7,071 
		
	
	(29)To 31 August 2005.

Independent Monitoring Boards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many current independent monitoring board members have served (a) less than one year, (b) between one and three years and (c) more than three years; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: On 3 October 2005, 274 current Independent Monitoring Board members had served less than one year; 509 members had served between one and three years; and 1,023 members had served more than three years.

Judicial Proceedings (Rights)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress towards his Department's target of increasing year on year the satisfaction of victims and witnesses while respecting the rights of defendants.

Fiona Mactaggart: Performance against my Department's targets is published in the annual report and the autumn performance report available in the Library and on the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk).

Life Prisoners

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conditions need to be met by a life prisoner to enable him or her to be considered for parole.

Fiona Mactaggart: The question of a lifer sentence prisoner's suitability for release cannot be considered until the prisoner has served the minimum period of imprisonment considered necessary for the purposes of retribution and deterrence (the tariff period). Exceptionally, the Secretary of State may release a life sentence prisoner prior to tariff expiry where he is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist to justify such action on compassionate grounds. All life sentence prisoners are entitled to have their suitability for release considered by the independent Parole Board on, or shortly before, the expiry of their tariff. They will then be entitled to further reviews of their detention at no more than two yearly intervals thereafter.
	There is no other specific condition imposed on a life sentence prisoner in relation to his or her consideration for release. Once the tariff has been served, the general issue governing release is the level of risk of serious harm that the prisoner may pose to others. The responsibility for assessing such risk and for directing the release of a tariff expired life sentence prisoner is now a matter for the Parole Board. The board is required by statute to satisfy itself that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined, and to direct release when it is so satisfied.
	The Parole Board will take relevant factors into account when making its assessments of risk in individual cases. The various key factors are set out in Directions given by the Secretary of State under section 32 (6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. Copies of the latest Directions are available from the Library.

Murder Statistics

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women have been (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted and given a custodial sentence for (A) killing and (B) murdering a child under 16 years in each of the past 20 years.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is not possible to identify those people prosecuted and convicted of killing and murdering a child under the age of 16 as the data collect on the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform does not have details as to age of the victim.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the business case for the National Offender Management Service.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 18 October 2005
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Strategic Business Case was published on the NOMS website www.noms.homeoffice.gov.uk on 20 October.

Offenders

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how frequently he met his colleagues from other Departments to discuss the (a) education and training, (b) work prospects and (c) healthcare of offenders in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: Since his appointment, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has had a programme of regular bilateral meetings with his colleagues in other Departments to discuss cross cutting issues including those impacting on offenders. In the last 11 months, the Home Secretary met bilaterally with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Ruth Kelly) on one occasion: my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Hutton) on three occasions and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health (Ms Hewitt) on one occasion. These meetings are supplemented by regular and detailed discussions with Junior Ministers. The Government are committed to reducing re-offending by tackling accommodation, education and health issues that affect offenders as set out in the National Reducing Re-Offending Delivery Plan launched on 22 November.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money the Prison Service has paid out in (a) out-of-court settlements and (b) other compensation for complaints of assault brought by inmates against staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: During the financial year 200405, the Prison Service paid 69,083 in out-of-court settlements to prisoners following alleged assaults by staff. This figure excludes payments to prisoners alleging mistreatment at Wormwood Scrubs during the 1990s.
	Statistics available centrally indicate that no other form of compensation was given to prisoners in response to complaints of assault by staff during the same period. Figures for previous financial years could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Prisons

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in Essex are electronically tagged on early release from prison.

Fiona Mactaggart: As of 13 October, the number of prisoners released on the Home Detention Curfew scheme (HDC) from Her Majesty's Prison Bullwood Hall and Her Majesty's Prison Chelmsford was 17.
	The area in which electronically tagged prisoners reside upon release is not recorded centrally.

Prisons

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask Jamie Oliver to assess prison food and suggest ways of improving it.

Fiona Mactaggart: The National Audit Office (NAO) is currently undertaking a study of catering and physical exercise within prisons. Part of the study includes research by Professor John Edwards into the nutritional qualities of meals for prisoners. The Prison Service always welcomes suggestions on improving catering and is currently waiting on the NAO report to see what action may be needed.

Prisons

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost per (a) breakfast, (b) lunch and (c) dinner is in prisons.

Fiona Mactaggart: The average public sector Prison Service daily food cost per prisoner for 200405 was 1.85. The average cost per meal per prisoner is based on the understanding that breakfast, lunch and dinner account for approximately 20 per cent., 40 per cent. and 40 per cent. respectively of the daily food cost. Using these figures the average cost per meal per prisoner was: breakfast 37.5p; lunch 73.8p; and, dinner 73.8p. But these percentages may vary from one establishment to another dependant on a variety of issues including seasonal choices of product and the local regime.
	Daily food costs per prisoner are based on average national figures as individual governors of prisons have had the authority to set their own catering budgets since 1994. Prisons are required to meet the minimum nutritional standards as laid down in Prison Service Order 5000 (Catering Manual) but there is no set financial formula that prisons are required to follow on the cost of each meal.

Prisons

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to prison governors in respect of the dietary requirementsof diabetic inmates; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 1 November 2005
	The Prison Service Catering Manual provides general food policy guidance to all prisons. The manual, Prison Service Order 5000, provides full guidance on hygiene and food safety, nutritional requirements and diets for special groups. Prisons and their national health service (NHS) partners are implementing the National Service Framework (NSF) for diabetes. In line with the NSF, improvements in the treatment of diabetics in prison include: better identification on reception into prison; assuring an appropriate diet; the establishment of specialist diabetes clinics in prison; closer links with NHS diabetes services; the introduction of retinopathy screening and practice-based registers as well as improved continuity of treatment on transfer or release.

Prisons

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to minimise the effect of passive smoking on prison (a) employees and (b) inmates; what guidance he has issued to prison governors in respect of his policy on the sharing of cells between smoking and non-smoking inmates; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 1 November 2005
	Each prison develops its own no smoking policy in line with current health and safety advice and taking into account the type of establishment it is, its population and the special needs of that population. Such local arrangements also require staff to be protected from the effects of passive smoking. Wherever possible prisoners should not be required to share accommodation with a smoker if they so request.

Prisons

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many girls under the age of 18 years there are in adult prisons in England and Wales.

Fiona Mactaggart: On 30 September 2005, there were 80 females under the age of 18 in prison establishments in England and Wales as recorded on the Prison Service IT system. These were all aged 17 and were located in separate juvenile units attached to female establishments that hold young adult or adult women, or in designated juvenile accommodation on young adult wings within such establishments. Females under the age of 17 who are committed to custody are not normally placed in prison or YOI accommodation but in secure children's homes or secure training centres.

Probation Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many trained probation officers there were in each probation area in each of the last five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information is not available for the full period requested. Data collected prior to 1 April 2003 is unreliable, and is not directly comparable with the more accurate figures collected since that time. The figures presented in the table show full-time equivalent (FTE) figures at the close of each quarter from 1 April 2003 to 30 June 2005.
	In addition, the information required to breakdown the number of Probation Officers in post by Area in Quarter 1 200304 is no longer held. As a result, only the total figure has been provided for this period.
	
		
			  200304 200405 200506 
			  Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Quarter 1 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset  96.40 112.90 110.40 151.90 148.10 153.70 153.30 154.40 
			 Bedfordshire  57.30 61.10 62.60 56.40 58.00 61.00 66.00 65.00 
			 Cambridgeshire  75.50 85.35 75.97 74.90 75.60 78.27 76.27 73.70 
			 Cheshire  116.10 112.30 114.30 109.60 113.80 113.90 114.65 121.00 
			 Cumbria  59.90 59.90 56.30 53.60 52.90 57.50 58.00 59.20 
			 Derbyshire  117.60 106.70 102.70 112.90 125.60 109.20 107.50 108.50 
			 Devon and Cornwall  136.80 149.35 146.30 141.76 141.60 149.10 150.30 151.10 
			 Dorset  63.00 68.00 63.10 60.86 62.56 66.79 70.29 67.64 
			 Durham  72.00 86.50 87.50 87.50 89.50 96.70 95.83 91.50 
			 Dyfed Powys  46.70 46.30 43.70 43.20 42.70 49.10 46.70 48.10 
			 Essex  106.00 111.20 117.50 116.80 112.90 120.11 120.20 115.00 
			 Gloucestershire  52.30 56.40 55.40 55.40 54.99 59.69 59.19 55.76 
			 Gwent  69.10 68.10 69.20 65.60 65.10 67.30 65.30 52.10 
			 Hampshire  155.90 173.59 178.60 175.90 168.50 190.40 188.90 179.90 
			 Hertfordshire  63.70 65.90 71.99 71.99 72.70 71.70 75.10 71.10 
			 Humberside  121.78 139.78 138.78 135.39 131.89 147.91 147.68 146.91 
			 Kent  138.35 148.55 154.95 152.15 144.40 146.20 145.53 142.13 
			 Lancashire  243.20 243.60 246.10 243.50 237.10 253.20 250.40 241.10 
			 Leicestershire  126.00 125.00 130.70 134.20 140.80 138.20 134.70 136.10 
			 Lincolnshire  64.20 61.60 60.60 57.60 64.00 63.60 64.40 63.10 
			 London  795.70 840.50 862.50 864.80 874.60 835.41 834.54 820.07 
			 Greater Manchester  414.70 399.80 387.58 370.20 373.20 404.40 406.26 402.21 
			 Merseyside  243.90 241.50 238.44 242.03 237.43 268.43 267.24 264.24 
			 Norfolk  72.68 76.88 84.18 80.88 77.68 79.85 82.60 80.16 
			 North Yorkshire  66.20 75.80 75.60 78.30 75.20 88.60 93.60 88.60 
			 North Wales  58.70 67.10 67.50 71.80 72.80 84.20 83.20 83.70 
			 Northamptonshire  69.00 65.00 63.00 59.00 65.00 66.63 72.54 70.99 
			 Northumbria  223.30 252.26 253.10 251.80 274.06 267.95 263.76 259.16 
			 Nottinghamshire  166.00 171.50 160.90 156.18 168.02 166.11 165.91 161.01 
			 South Wales  155.60 157.60 172.30 169.60 169.70 195.90 191.48 188.50 
			 South Yorkshire  183.50 203.00 202.40 196.80 195.50 212.70 208.10 203.90 
			 Staffordshire  148.70 147.10 146.20 148.40 156.40 152.30 152.70 151.60 
			 Suffolk  82.25 81.75 85.15 82.25 82.80 83.00 83.40 83.58 
			 Surrey  56.70 63.90 66.55 62.50 62.10 68.30 66.67 69.85 
			 Sussex  121.20 123.30 126.60 128.41 127.79 128.74 128.84 129.70 
			 Teesside  64.60 76.60 74.85 74.35 84.85 87.65 87.24 95.90 
			 Thames Valley  163.00 176.70 182.00 175.00 169.30 176.40 175.80 164.00 
			 Warwickshire  55.00 55.00 53.21 52.80 55.15 51.33 52.93 54.06 
			 West Mercia  123.31 125.46 125.90 121.84 142.58 141.30 138.10 137.10 
			 West Midlands  374.50 429.20 406.82 403.97 447.50 444.50 446.30 443.50 
			 West Yorkshire  275.57 310.48 313.86 321.16 320.58 343.37 331.88 335.37 
			 Wiltshire  41.90 48.90 50.10 44.10 41.50 44.30 43.30 39.30 
			 Total 5,831.10 5,937.84 6,271.45 6,85.43 6,257.32 6,376.48 6,584.94 6,566.63 6,469.84

Re-offending

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the most recent re-offending rates are of (a) minors and (b) adults from Southend.

Fiona Mactaggart: Re-offending rates are not currently available on a regional basis.

Secure Training Centres

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children in secure training centres have been referred under the Children Act 2004 to local social services departments for reasons of child protection in each of the last three years.

Fiona Mactaggart: References are made under the Children Act 1989. Each secure training centre has a protocol, agreed with the local authority, which governs referrals. The protocol is ratified by the local Area Child Protection Committee. Where a young person (or any other person) makes a complaint which raises child protection issues, it is passed to the local authority social services department for its consideration. It is for the social services department to decide whether an investigation is warranted under section 47 of the Children Act 1989. The following table lists the number of referrals made by each centre over the last three years.
	
		Referrals to local authorities by secure training centres of children under child protection procedures
		
			  2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Hassockfield 39 25 37 
			 Oakhill n/a n/a 26 
			 Medway 16 45 29 
			 Rainsbrook 20 15 21

Travellers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many travellers have been convicted for not paying tax on their motor vehicles in each of the last eight years;
	(2)  how many travellers were convicted of criminal offences in the last five years, broken down by crime.

Fiona Mactaggart: It is not possible to provide the information requested, as travellers cannot be identified on the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Voter Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the population is registered to vote in each constituency in the UnitedKingdom (a) ranked in descending order and (b) broken down by region and ranked in descending order.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 12 December 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the percentage of the population who are registered to vote in each Parliamentary Constituency. I am replying in her absence. (36887)
	I am placing in the House of Commons Library tables showing the requested information.
	Population data by Parliamentary Constituency are not available on an annual basis, consequently the tables have been prepared from 2001 Census data. Constituencies in Scotland, therefore, are those that were in place prior to the last election.
	In order to give an estimate of the number of electors on Census day (29 April 2001), a weighted average is taken of the 1 February 2001 and 1 December 2001 electoral data. Data are given for Parliamentary electorate. Data for the local/European electorate, by Parliamentary Constituency are not readily available for 2001.
	For the purposes of answering this question, we have assumed that you are interested in the percentage of the population aged 18 and over who are registered to vote. However it should be noted that the percentage of residents who are registered to vote in each Constituency is not a reliable estimate of the registration rate of the eligible population: the resident population aged 18 and over is not the same as the number of people eligible to vote.
	The UK Parliamentary electorate excludes residents of countries other than the UK and the Commonwealth and includes UK citizens resident abroad. In addition not everyone who is usually resident is entitled to vote (foreign citizens from outside of the EU and Commonwealth. prisoners, etc, are not eligible) and people who have more than one address may register in more than one place. Also there is inevitably some double counting of the registered electorate as electoral registration officers vary in how quickly they remove people from the registers after they have moved away from an area or after they have died. This latter is the main reason why in some Constituencies the population aged 18 and over is less than those registered to vote. These factors may have a different impact from place to place.
	Furthermore, you should note that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revised the mid-2001 population estimates since the publication of the 2001 Census results. In September 2003, revisions were made that added approximately 193,000 to the population of England and Wales. This revision primarily related to the addition of a number of young males that were not captured by the Census. In September 2004, ONS made further revisions as a result of concluding studies designed to improve population estimates in the areas that proved hardest to count in the 2001 Census in England and Wales. The results of this work showed that the Census worked well in most areas, but that there were a few cases where it was not able sufficiently to adjust for exceptional circumstances. The analysis showed that there was a need for revisions to the 2001 Census based population estimates of around 107,000 for England and Wales as a whole. The adjustments were included in the new mid-year population estimates for 2001, published in 2004. The census database itself was not revised following the publication of these adjustments. More details on these issues can be found at: www.statistics.gov.uk/lastudies
	Any comparison of these data with figures for other years should be made carefully as electoral legislation and other changes (such as EU expansion) can change the size of the electorate.

Vulnerable Witnesses

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vulnerable witnesses used intermediaries provided for in the special measures for vulnerable witnesses under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 in each of the pilot schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: Examination of a witness through an intermediary under section 29 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 is currently available in six pathfinder areas: Merseyside; West Midlands; Thames Valley; South Wales; Norfolk; and Devon and Cornwall. Evaluation of the pathfinders will be completed by the end of March 2006 after which plans will be made for further roll out of the scheme in England and Wales.
	The latest available information about the number of times that intermediaries have been used is given in the attached table.
	We have issued recently information packs entitled 'What's my story?' and 'Intermediaries: Giving a voice to vulnerable witnesses' copies of which have been placed in the Library. These materials are being used to promote awareness and understanding of the intermediary scheme in the pathfinder areas.
	
		
			 AreaIntermediary scheme start date Number of witnesses assisted by an intermediary as at 15 November 2005(30) 
		
		
			 Merseyside 23 February 2004 11 
			 West Midlands 13 September 2004 (Wolverhampton area) 1 November 2004 (all courts in West Midlands) 20 
			 Thames Valley 2 October 2004 51 
			 South Wale(31) 1 February 2005 2 
			 Norfolk 1 February 2005 5 
			 Devon and Cornwall(32) 20 June 2005 9 
			 Total  98 
		
	
	(30)Data refer to the number of witnesses for whom the Office for Criminal Justice Reform has provided a registered intermediary where the intermediary has, or is expected to, carried out a communication needs analysis relating to the witness or has assisted them to understand questions or to make their answers understood during a criminal investigation or trial. Data refer only to pathfinder areas where notification of availability of the intermediary special measure has been made in accordance with section 18(2) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.
	(31)In South Wales trials are restricted to Cardiff Crown Court, Cardiff Magistrates' Courts, The Vale of Glamorgan Magistrates' Courts, Newcastle and Ogmore Magistrates' Courts, Miskin Magistrates' Courts.
	(32)In Devon and Cornwall trials are restricted to Plymouth Crown Court and Plymouth Magistrates' Court.

Young Offenders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders have been intensively supervised in the community in each year since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The numbers of young offenders who have been intensively supervised under the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme in each financial year since its introduction in July 2001 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Financial Year Number 
		
		
			 July 2001 to March 2002 876 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 3,342 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 4,705 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 4,960 
			 March 2005 to September 2005 2,760 
			 Total 16,643

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Barker Review (Government Response)

Martin Horwood: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) calculations and (b) data sets his Department used for the (i) price and (ii) supply elasticity of housing in working out a response to the Barker Review of Housing Supply.

Yvette Cooper: The Government published as part of the response to the Barker Review a major study on the relationship between housing supply and affordability. This underpins the Government's response to the Barker Review.
	As part of the project, a nine-region model was developed to examine the relationship between housing supply and affordability (specified as the ratio of lower quartile house prices to lower quartile earnings). The model consists of three interrelated modules: demographic module, housing module and a labour market module.
	This model is a step forward from previous analysis, including the Barker Review. For the first time we are able to model nationally and regionally the relationship between housing supply and affordability. Previous analyses looked only at prices at national level and were not able to take into account the interactions between the demographics and housing and labour markets.
	The report and its technical annex give details of all the key relationships and elasticities. The report is available at www.odpm.gov.uk.

Designated Growth Areas

Anne Main: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2005, Official Report, columns 168889W, on designated growth areas 
	(1)  what plans his Department has to make available to local authorities information regarding infrastructure costs in designated growth areas;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of (a) the adequacy of existing infrastructure in designated growth areas and (b) whether the infrastructure is sufficient to support planned growth; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what (a) assessment will be made of infrastructure requirements and (b) infrastructure will be put in place in designated growth areas before planned development begins;
	(4)  what assessment (a) has been made and (b) is planned to be made of (i) the age profile of those expected to move into designated growth areas and (ii)the effect of that profile on the (A) infrastructure and (B) housing needs of those areas.

Yvette Cooper: The Government have stated on a number of occasions that building sustainable communities means more than building new houses and that additional infrastructure and services will be required in support of a growing population as well as the existing population.
	Infrastructure results vary widely from one area to another and from one development to another, and so it is not possible to apply a general formula to growth plans. In order to underpin the plans for the growth areas, studies were commissioned on the growth areas (e.g. the 2002 Milton Keynes and South Midlands study undertaken by Roger Tym and Partners) and on individual locations within the growth areas (e.g. the 2003 Milton Keynes and Aylesbury Growth Area studies, also prepared by Roger Tym and Partners). These studies have included information on infrastructure requirements and costing and have been made public in order to inform the regional planning documents relevant to the growth areas (e.g. the Milton Keynes South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy). The sub-regional strategies are now being taken forward at local level and local partners are doing their own work to prioritise and cost the infrastructure associated with growth. The Government are not planning to commission additional studies to estimate infrastructure requirements and costs for each of the growth areas.
	Both housing development and infrastructure investment are on-going activities. The allocation of individual houses and expenditures on infrastructure to growth and background levels is not a practical option. Nor is it practical or desirable to halt all development until all of the investment contemplated in support of that development is in place. Indeed, infrastructure requirements will change over time, reflecting, for example, the detailed geography of housing and jobs, as well as changes in technology, consumer preferences and service provision. Rather, infrastructure needs to be put in place on a timely basis to support growth in a locality and needs to be planned for on a dynamic basis. We look to local partners, in particular the local delivery vehicles, to construct their business plans accordingly and to work with regional and national bodies in prioritising funding towards timely provision of infrastructure.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has produced variant population projections for the four growth areas. These were done at local authority level and projected forward population projections based on current population trends and likely additional housing due to the area being a growth area. The assumed additional population was based on past trends regarding births, deaths, household formation rates and migration.
	Government looks to regional and local partners to plan dynamically for changing demographics. For example, the Learning and Skills Councils in the Milton Keynes South Midlands sub-region have collaborated on a study on the long-term learning and skills needs of the area. This study embraces a variety of demographic scenarios and recognises the need to take a strategic approach to planning infrastructure which is adaptable to a range of scenarios.

Fire Services

Michael Clapham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list occasions since 1975 when fire and rescue authorities have been unable to cope with (a) a major fire or rescue incident and (b) civil disturbance; and which Fire and Rescue Authority fire control room was involved in each case.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fire Services

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many call outs each retained fire service in North Nottinghamshire has had in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fire Services

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many times out-of-county fire appliances have been called to emergencies in Nottinghamshire due to Nottinghamshire services being already engaged in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fire Services

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost will be of removing the Wiltshire Fire Services Control Room from the joint services control room at Devizes when the Regional Control Room in Taunton has been completed.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Specific figures are not yet available for moving individual fire control rooms, as the FiReControl business case only exists at national level. The one-off gross cost of implementing networked regional control centres in England is forecast to be 160 million.
	For Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority there may be a financial penalty associated with withdrawing from the tri-service arrangements at Devizes. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is in discussion with the authority about meeting such costs under the new burdens rules.

Fire Services

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many IT and communication systems are used by the South West Fire Services; how he will unify them; and how much this will cost.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold central information on all the IT and communication systems used by the South West fire and rescue services. There are no plans to unify them all, though the services will have a common radio system under Firelink, and share a regional control centre under FiReControl.

Fire Services

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the budgets are for setting up the regional fire control centres located at (a) Belmont Business Park, Durham, (b) Lingley Mere Business Park, Warrington, (c) Cambridge Research Park, (d) Willow Farm Business Park, Castle Donnington, (e) Wolverhampton Business Park, (f) Paragon Business Park, Wakefield, (g) Blackbrook Business Park, Taunton and (h) Kite's Croft, Fareham; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: FiReControl is a national project. There are no separate budgets for each regional control centre. For information on the one-off costs of delivering FiReControl, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North Thanet (Mr. Gale) on 8 November 2005, Official Report, column 358W.

Fire Services

Alan Williams: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cases were recorded of attacks on firemen while working on emergencies in each year since 200304; how many have been recorded in 200506; how many prosecutions were pursued; and what sentences were imposed on those found guilty in each case in which all proceedings are complete.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is as follows:
	(a) The office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has been maintaining records of attacks on firefighters since April 2004. Prior to that date their was no requirement for the fire and rescue service to report attacks on firefighters.
	Since April 2004 there has been in place a procedure for attacks on firefighters to be notified to the ODPM using the Fires and Incidents of Special Interest (FOSI) reporting procedures as detailed in Dear Chief Fire Officer (DCOL) letter 3/2004 issued 1 April 2004. This procedure was updated by the issue of Fire and Rescue Service Circular 5/2005 issued on 15 February 2005.
	(b) ODPM to date has no available information on the numbers of prosecutions pursued and what sentences were, if any, imposed on those found guilty .

Fire Services

David Ruffley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) part-time and (b) full-time firefighters serviced (i) Suffolk and (ii) Bury St. Edmunds constituency in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of firefighters employed by Suffolk fire and rescue service between 1997 and 2005 is set out as follows:
	
		Number
		
			  Date(33) Retained duty system firefiehters Whole-time firefighters 
		
		
			 1997 423 256 
			 1998 414 252 
			 1999 400 256 
			 2000 396 249 
			 2001 404 248 
			 2002 401 253 
			 2003 415 250 
			 2004 399 244 
			 2005(34) 428 257 
		
	
	(33)Information provided refers to the work force at 31 March.
	(34)Figures are provisional.
	Source:
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's annual returns.
	Information on the number of firefighters employed at constituency level is not available centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Growth Areas Directorate

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister to whom the Head of the Department's Growth Areas Directorate reports.

Yvette Cooper: The Head of Growth Areas Division reports to the Director, Sustainable Communities Directorate.

Growth Areas Directorate

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with which division in the Department for Transport the Head of the Department's Growth Areas Directorate liaises on transport matters.

Yvette Cooper: Growth Areas Division liaises mainly with Regional and Local Transport Delivery Division in the Department for Transport.

Homelessness

Grant Shapps: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of individuals made homeless in the last 12 months following private landlords obtaining (a) an order of possession and (b) a bailiff's order from the courts.

Yvette Cooper: The number of individuals made homeless due to an order of possession or a bailiff's order from the courts is not collected centrally. Information is collected quarterly from local authorities about the number of households accepted as homeless, in priority need and consequently owed a main homelessness duty. This includes reasons for loss of the last settled home, and distinguishes those involving rent arrears on a private dwelling, the ending of an assured shorthold tenancy, and other reasons for the loss of tied accommodation or a rented dwelling (including local authority owned accommodation). As shown in the following table, some 23,200 households became homeless for one of these reasons (around 20 per cent. of all acceptances) between July 2004 and June 2005.
	
		Reasons for loss of rented settled home: July 2004 to June 2005England
		
			  Total households(35) 
		
		
			 Rent arrears on private sector dwellings 1,570 
			 Loss of rented/tied accommodation due to:  
			 Termination of an assured shorthold tenancy 15,280 
			 Other reasons 6,370 
			 Total of above reasons 23,220 
		
	
	(35)Households found to be eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly)

Housing

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of the (a) housing action trusts, (b) European Structural Fund Objective 3, (c) Connexions Grant, (d) Neighbourhood Renewal, (e) Housing Investment Programme and (f) London Development Agency grant funding stream from the Government office for London was made available to the London borough of Croydon in 200405.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is as follows.
	(a) In 200405 the London borough of Croydon received no funding under the Housing Action Trusts programme. Only the Stonebridge Housing Action Trust in the London borough of Brent received funding in that year.
	(b) Total ESF Objective 3 funding allocated to London in 200405 was 132,350,629, of which schemes in the London borough of Croydon received 5,051,705.
	(c) Total funding of 73,014,270 was available for Connexions Partnerships in London in 200405. The South London Connexions Partnership, which covers the London boroughs of Croydon, Bromley, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton, received 10,842,518 in 200405. Some of this funding was allocated to projects working across the sub-region, from which Croydon would have benefited, while the South London Connexions Partnership allocated 2,393,051 specifically to Connexions services in Croydon.
	(d) In 200405 the London borough of Croydon received Neighbourhood Renewal Funding of 824,387. Total Neighbourhood Renewal Fund for London 200405 was 110,087,967.
	(e) Croydon received Housing Investment Programme funding of 4.53 million in 200405, from a total of 208 million allocated to London boroughs on a formulaic Generalised Needs Index basis in that year.
	(f) In 200405 Government grant to the London Development Agency was 329,337,081. The total funding made available by the London Development Agency to projects in the London borough of Croydon was 1,073,112 in that year. In addition the London Development Agency funds a number of areas of work which benefit the whole of London, including work to promote tourism, employment and business, social inclusion and regeneration.

Integrated Regional Strategy

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was of producing the Integrated Regional Strategy for the East of England; how many copies have been made; and how many copies were downloaded from the internet each month since it was published.

Yvette Cooper: The total cost of producing the Integrated Regional Strategy (IRS) in the East of England is 12,601, including the 1,000 copies that have been printed to date.
	It is impossible to state how many copies of the IRS have been downloaded from the East of England Regional Assembly's website. The web page that contains the link to the document has received 3,020 hits since publication.

Local Government

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to review the operation of procedures for deciding who is in a politically restricted post in local government.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister consulted last year on a review of the regulatory framework governing the political activities of local government employees. We intend to publish our conclusions on this shortly.

Mobile Phone Companies

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he plans to publish Professor Phil Allmendiger's report with Arup on codes of best practice for mobile phone companies.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister commissioned the University of Reading and Arup to undertake an independent study to assess the impact that the Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development has had since its introduction, how local authorities have implemented the code and how the public perceives its operation. Plans are to publish this report in the new year.

Mobile Telephone Masts

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to make the Arup report on mobile telephone masts publicly available.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister commissioned the University of Reading and Arup to undertake an independent study to assess the impact that the Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development has had since its introduction, how local authorities have implemented the code and how the public perceives its operation. Plans are to publish this report in the new year.

Planning

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the average length of time to process a (a) planning application, (b) major planning application and (c) planning appeal in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: The information available from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on the time taken by local authorities to process planning applications are the percentages of applications for planning permission and related consents which are decided within eight weeks, between eight and 13 weeks and in more than 13 weeks. The statistics are used to monitor performance against the government targets that 60 per cent. of applications for major development should be decided within 13 weeks, that 65 per cent. of applications for minor development should be decided within eight weeks, and that 80 per cent. of applications for other development (predominantly householder applications) should be decided within eight weeks.
	In 199697, local authorities determined on average 57 per cent. of major applications within 13 weeks, 57 per cent. of minor applications within eight weeks and 69 per cent. of other applications within eight weeks.
	In the year ending June 2005, the latest data available, local authorities determined on average 61 per cent. of major applications within 13 weeks, 69 per cent. of minor applications within eight weeks and 84 per cent. of other applications within eight weeks.
	The Planning Inspectorate's performance in processing a planning appeal is measured against ministerial targets which are reviewed annually.
	
		Time taken to decide 80 per cent. of planning appeals199697
		
			  Written representations Hearings Inquiries 
		
		
			 Target 22 weeks 43 weeks 51 weeks 
			 Outturn 25 weeks 47 weeks 56 weeks 
			 Number of appeals decided 9,686 1,512 831 
		
	
	
		Change to target introduced in 200405now measured against a 50 per cent. target
		
			  Written representations Hearings Inquiries 
		
		
			 Target 16 weeks 30 weeks 30 weeks 
			 Outturn 30 weeks 40 weeks 43 weeks 
			 Number of appeals decided 13,668 2,894 847

Regional Policy

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research he has evaluated on whether regional (a) economic and (b) social differences have changed since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: To support the 2004 PSA target to make sustainable improvements in the economic performance of the English regions, independent research to summarise the economic base was commissioned in 2004. The report of this work Regional Growth Report was published in September 2004 and is available from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l139483.

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what training is given to (a) policy officials and (b) lawyers in his Department responsible for drafting statutory instruments; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Statutory instruments are drafted by departmental lawyers based on instructions from policy divisions. Where SIs amend primary legislation, parliamentary counsel are consulted.
	As members of the Government Legal Service (GLS), departmental lawyers receive extensive training on the preparation and drafting of statutory instruments. This consists of a combination of lectures and practical exercises run by experienced practitioners in the GLS, coupled with training given by legal advisers who advise the parliamentary scrutiny committees. In addition, senior managers in the GLS take a close interest in the quality of SIs and provide frequent feedback and on the job training to those with lead responsibility for drafting. This is an on-going process and part of the continuing education of government legal advisers.

Tax Revenue

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the annual tax revenue from applying business rates to the land holdings of development and property companies.

Phil Woolas: None.

Thames Gateway

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 820W, on Thames Gateway, if he will place in the Library copies of the strategic flood risk assessments held by (a) his Department and (b) the relevant Government office for the regions.

Yvette Cooper: Copies of the Strategic Flood Risk Assessments for the Thames Gateway will be publicly available on the internet. The document requested is an external publication produced by the Thames Gateway London Partnership. At the present time, Strategic Flood Risk Assessments have been completed for the London area of the Thames Gateway. This is available on the Thames Gateway London Partnership website at http://www.thames-gateway.org.uk/social-inc-content. asp?id:=16. Copies of the Strategic Flood Risk Assessments for North Kent and South Essex will be publicly available when the final reports are produced.

Town and Parish Councils

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of town and parish councillors gained office as a result of a contested election.

Phil Woolas: Information about the proportion of town and parish councillors that have gained office as a result of a contested election is not collected centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Town and Parish Councils

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many town and parish councils in England have achieved Quality Parish Council status.

Phil Woolas: There are currently 230 town and parish councils in England which have achieved Quality Parish status.

Town and Parish Councils

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many town and parish councils there are in England, broken down by district or unitary level local authority area; and how many levy their own precept in each case.

Phil Woolas: There are about 8,700 parish and town councils in England. Volume 2 of the latest edition of the Municipal Year Book lists parishes under the relevant county and district council area. Information about how many parish and town councils levy their own precept is not collected centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Town and Parish Councils

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many town and parish councillors there are in England.

Phil Woolas: There are approximately 70,000 town and parish councillors in England.

Town and Parish Councils

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the main local services funded through the levy of town and parish council precepts are.

Phil Woolas: Town and parish councils have powers to provide various services which are funded by precept. A list of their main statutory functions is as tabled. Principal authorities have powers to delegate services to town and parish councils. Central Government do not hold centrally a breakdown of spending by town and parish councils.
	
		Powers and duties of parish councils
		
			 Function Powers and duties Statutory provisions 
		
		
			 Access land Power to enforce byelaws made by another authority Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, s. 17 
			
			 Allotments Duty to provide allotments. Power to improve and adapt land for allotments, and to let grazing rights Small Holdings  Allotments Act 1908, ss. 23, 26, and 42 
			
			 Baths and washhouses Powers relating to provision of public baths, washhouses and bathing huts Public Health Act 1936, ss. 221223 and 225227 
			
			 Burial grounds, cemeteries and Power to acquire and maintain Open Spaces Act 1906, Ss 9 and 10 
			 crematoria Power to provide Local Government Act 1972, s. 214 
			  Power to agree to maintain monuments and memorials Parish Councils and Burial Authorities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970, s. 1 
			  Power to contribute towards expenses of cemeteries Local Government Act 1972, s. 214(6) 
			
			 Bus shelters Power to provide and maintain shelters Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1953, s. 4 
			
			 Bye-laws Power to make bye-laws in regard to pleasure grounds Public Health Act 1875, s. 164 
			  Cycle parks Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, s.57(7) 
			  Baths and washhouses Public Health Act 1936, s.223 
			  Open spaces and burial grounds Open Spaces Act 1906, ss.15 and 12 
			  Mortuaries and post-mortem rooms Public Health Act 1936, s.198 
			  Public Conveniences Public Health Act 1936, s. 87 
			
			 Clocks Power to provide public clocks Parish Councils Act 1957, s.2 
			
			 Closed churchyards Powers as to maintenance Local Government Act 1972, s.2 15 
			
			 Commons Power for parish council to contribute to expense relating to scheme for the regulation and management of a common Commons Act 1899, s.5 
			   
			 Common pastures Powers in relation to providing common pasture Smallholdings and Allotments Act 1908, s.34 
			
			 Conference facilities Power to provide and encourage the use of facilities Local Government Act 1972, s.144 
			
			 Community centres Power to provide and equip buildings for use of clubs having athletic, social or recreational objectives Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 s.19 
			
			 Crime prevention Powers to install and maintain equipment and establish and maintain a scheme for detection or prevention of crime Local Government and Rating Act 1997, s.31 
			
			 Drainage Power to deal with ponds and ditches Public Health Act 1936, s.260 
			 Entertainment and the arts Provision of entertainment and support of the arts Local Government Act 1972, s.145 
			
			 Financial assistance Duty to require information Local Government Act 1972, S.137A 
			
			 General powers Power to incur expenditure for certain purposes Local Government Act 1972, s. 137 
			
			 Gifts Power to accept Local Government Act 1972, s.139 
			
			 Highways Power to maintain footpaths and bridle-ways Power to light roads and public places Provision of litter bins Powers to provide parking places for bicycles and motor-cycles, and other vehicles Power to enter into agreement as to dedication and widening Power to provide roadside seats and shelters Consent of parish council required for ending maintenance of highway at public expense, or for stopping up or diversion of highway Power to complain to highway authority as to unlawful stopping up or obstruction of highway or unlawful encroachment on roadside wastes Power to provide traffic signs and other objects or devices warning of danger Power to plant trees and lay out grass verges etc. and to maintain them Highways Act 1980, ss.43, 5 Parish Councils Act 1957, s.3; Highways Act 1980, s.301 Litter Act 1983, ss.5,6 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, ss.57, 63 Highways Act 1980, ss.30, 72 Parish Councils Act 1957, s.1 Highways Act 1980, ss.47, 116 Highways Act 1980, s.130 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, s.72 Highways Act 1980, s.96 
			
			 Investments Power to participate in schemes of collective investment Trustee Investments Act 1961, s.11 
			
			 Land Power to acquire by agreement, to appropriate, to dispose of Local Government Act 1972, ss.124, 126, 127 
			  Power to accept gifts of land Local Government Act 1972, s.139 
			
			 Litter Provision of receptacles Litter Act 1983, ss.5,6 
			
			 Lotteries Powers to promote Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976, s.7 
			
			 Mortuaries and post mortem rooms Powers to provide mortuaries and post mortem rooms Public Health Act 1936, s.198 
			
			 Open spaces Power to acquire land and maintain Public Health Act 1875, s.1 64 Open Spaces Act 1906, ss.9 and 10 
			
			 Parish documents Powers to direct as to their custody Local Government Act 1972, s.226 
			
			 Public buildings and village hall Power to provide buildings for public meetings and assemblies Local Government Act 1972, s.1 33 
			
			 Public conveniences Powers relating to provision of public conveniences Public Health Act 1936, s.87 
			
			 Recreation Power to acquire land for or to provide public walks, pleasure grounds and open spaces and to manage and control them Power to provide gymnasiums, playing fields, holiday camps Provision of boating pools (see Local Government Act 1972, Sched.14para.27) Public Health Act 1875, s.164 Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1890 s.44 Open Spaces Act 1906, ss.9 and 10 Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, s.19 Public Health Act 1961, s.54 
			
			 Town and country planning Right to be notified of planning applications Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Sched l, para.8 
			
			 Tourism Power to encourage visitors and provide conference and other facilities Local Government Act 1972, s.144 
			
			 Traffic calming Powers to contribute financially to traffic calming schemes Highways Act 1980, s.274A 
			
			 Transport Powers in relation to car-sharing schemes, taxi fare concessions and information about transport Local Government and Rating Act 1997, s.26, 28 and 29 
			  Powers to make grants for bus services Transport Act 1985, S.106A 
			
			 War memorials Power to maintain, repair, protect and alter war memorials War Memorials (Local Authorities' Powers) Act 1923, s.1; as extended by Local Government Act 1948, s.133 
			
			 Water supply Power to utilise well, spring or stream and to provide facilities for obtaining water from them Public Health Act 1936, s.1 25

Town and Parish Councils

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the average total combined cost of clerking, insurance and audit fees for town and parish councils in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Information about the cost of employing parish council clerks and the cost of insuring town and parish councils in England is not collected centrally, andcould be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information provided by the Audit Commission shows that parish and town councils and parish meetings collectively paid approximately 1.9 million in audit fees for the year 200304.

Town and Parish Councils

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average precept at band D levied by town and parish councils in England was in each of the last 10 years.

Phil Woolas: Reliable figures for the average band D council taxes set by parish and town councils in each of the last 10 years are not available. This is becausealthough the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister collects information on the total amounts of council tax precepted by parish and town councilsinformation on the taxbases (numbers of band D-equivalent dwellings) to which the precepts relate, which is needed to calculate average figures, is not collected centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As stated in Table A2b of Local Government Financial Statistics England No. 16 2005, the average band D council tax set by parish and town councils for 200506 has been estimated to be 42. But this is dependent upon an estimate of the taxbase for the area to which the precepts relate which is not robust enough to give a reliable set of figures over time.
	The total amount of council tax precepted by parish and town councils in England in each of the last 10 years are tabled as follows. While this gives a broad indication of the trend in average precepts, it also reflects an increase in the number of parish and town councils, with about 150 new ones having been created since 1997.
	
		 million
		
			  Financial year Total amount precepted by parish and town councils 
		
		
			 199697 133 
			 199798 144 
			 199899 154 
			 19992000 165 
			 200001 181 
			 200102 193 
			 200203 210 
			 200304 226 
			 200405 242 
			 200506 260

NORTHERN IRELAND

Cataract Operations

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cataract operations were carried out by the NHS in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Shaun Woodward: Information on the number of cataract operations carried out in acute hospitals in Northern Ireland in each year from 199596 to 200405 (the latest year for which data are available) is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of cataract operations 
		
		
			 200405 8,381 
			 200304 8,501 
			 200203 7,666 
			 200102 7,187 
			 200001 7,178 
			 19992000 6,746 
			 199899 6,487 
			 199798 6,224 
			 199697 5,556 
			 199596 5,677 
		
	
	Source:
	Hospital Inpatient System

Cataract Operations

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time is in Northern Ireland for a cataract operation.

Shaun Woodward: Waiting list information is collected by time band. It is therefore not possible to calculate the arithmetic mean (average) length of time waiting. It is however possible to identify the median or mid-point waiting time band.
	The median waiting time band for in-patients who were waiting for a cataract operation at 30 September 2005 was 35 months.

Child Abuse Allegations

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much government funding has been set aside by the Council of Catholic Maintained Schools to meet the cost of potential child abuse allegations in the maintained sector of schooling in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools does not set aside specific funding for the handling of child abuse allegations. Such matters are dealt with as part of the council's duties from within its annual recurrent budget.

Class Sizes

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average class size for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the integrated sector in Northern Ireland was in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The average class size for primary schools in the integrated sector in Northern Ireland was as follows:
	
		
			  Average class size 
		
		
			 199596 23.0 
			 199697 22.8 
			 199798 23.2 
			 199899 23.8 
			 19992000 24.3 
			 200001 24.7 
			 200102 24.9 
			 200203 24.9 
			 200304 24.5 
			 200405 24.8 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The average class size quoted refers to year 1 to year 7 pupils in composite and non-composite classes.
	2.The figures include controlled integrated and grant maintained integrated schools.
	The requested information in respect of secondary schools was not collected at the time, and any attempt to do so retrospectively would be problematic and could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Class Sizes

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average class size is in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the Southern Education and Library Board area.

Angela Smith: The average class size in primary schools in the Southern Education and Library Board area in 200405 was 22.7 pupils.
	The requested information in respect of secondary schools was not collected at the time, and any attempt to do so retrospectively would be problematic and could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	Note:
	The average class size quoted refers to year 1 to year 7 pupils in composite and non-composite classes.

Class Sizes

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average class size was in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the (i)Banbridge, (ii) Lurgan and (iii) Portadown area in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The requested information is as follows:
	
		
			  Schools in 
			  Banbridge Portadown Lurgan 
		
		
			 199596 24.6 23.6 24.9 
			 199697 25.9 23.6 25.2 
			 199798 25.9 23.4 24.9 
			 199899 25.4 23.2 24.8 
			 19992000 25.5 23.0 24.6 
			 200001 255 23.8 243 
			 200102 24.7 24.1 24.4 
			 200203 25.1 24.2 23.8 
			 200304 26.7 23.3 23.7 
			 200405 26.5 23.3 24.1 
		
	
	Note:
	1.The average class size quoted refers to year 1 to year 7 pupils in composite and non-composite classes.
	2.Data refers to schools located within the specified towns. Schools that are no longer open have not been included (except in the case of amalgamations).
	The requested information in respect of secondary schools was not collected at the time, and any attempt to do so retrospectively would be problematic and could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Class Sizes

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the ratio of children to computers in each primary school in (a) Banbridge, (b) Lurgan and (c) Portadown was in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: Information in the form requested is not readily available.
	Neither the Department of Education (DE) nor the Education and Library Boards hold this level of detail. The only information available relates to the computers provided by DE under the Classroom 2000 Initiative (C2k).
	The C2k service is provided as a core allocation to schools at no charge to their delegated budgets. It provides almost 40,000 PCs to all grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland. Rollout of the C2k service began in December 2001 and was completed in June 2004. C2k computers were provided to primary schools based on pupil numbers strictly in accordance with the following ratios:
	
		
			 Key Stage Ratio (computers:pupils) 
		
		
			 KS1 1:14 
			 KS2 1:10 
		
	
	In aggregate, this equates to one PC is for every 12 pupils in each grant-aided primary school. Individual schools may also purchase additional ICT equipment from their delegated budgets or from other sources. Schools are not required to provide an inventory of this additional equipment. This means that the ratios quoted above represent the absolute minimum in any grant-aided school.

Class Sizes

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average class size was for (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in the (i)controlled and (ii) maintained sector in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The average class size for primary schools in the controlled and maintained sectors in Northern Ireland was as follows:
	
		
			  Controlled sector Maintained sector 
		
		
			 199596 24.0 24.1 
			 l99697 24.1 24.0 
			 199798 23.8 23.8 
			 199899 24.2 23.9 
			 19992000 24.2 23.6 
			 200001 24.0 23.4 
			 200102 23.6 23.2 
			 200203 23.5 23.1 
			 200304 23.4 22.9 
			 200405 23.2 22.8 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The average class size quoted refers to year 1 to year 7 pupils in composite and non-composite classes.
	2.The figures for the controlled sector do not include controlled integrated schools.
	The requested information in respect of secondary schools was not collected at the time, and any attempt to do so retrospectively would be problematic and could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessments

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the office holders in the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessments at the time the current guidance for relationships and sexuality education was drawn up.

Angela Smith: Membership of the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment at the time the current guidance for relationships and sexuality education was drawn-up (19992000) was as follows:
	Chairman
	Dr. Alan Lennon
	Members
	Mr. Brian Carlin
	Mr. John Ellison
	Mr. Donal Flanagan
	Mr. Brian Henry
	Miss Christine McGowan
	Mr. Wilbert McKee
	Professor Harry McMahon
	Dr. Paul Madden
	Mrs. Margaret Martin
	Mr. Denis Moloney
	Dr. Wilfred Mulryne
	Ms Anne Murray
	Miss Sheila Shanagher
	Mr. Gordon Topping

Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessments

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public funding the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessments has received in each of the last five financial years.

Angela Smith: The information sought is as follows:
	
		000
		
			  Public funding received 
		
		
			 200001 11,230 
			 200102 12,317 
			 200203 13,996 
			 200304 16,275 
			 200405 17,302 
		
	
	These figures relate to funding provided by the Department of Education and, from 200304, also from the Department of Employment and Learning.

Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessments

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of preparing and publishing the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessments' current guidance for relationships and sexuality education in primary schools and post-primary schools.

Angela Smith: The cost of preparing and publishing the current guidance on relationships and sexuality education was 14,585.00.

Dentistry

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many dentists in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Upper Bann are accepting NHS patients; and if he will list the dentists concerned in Upper Bann.

Shaun Woodward: During the quarter ending November 2005, there were:
	(a) 686 dentists in Northern Ireland with new NHS patient registrations and;
	(b) 41 dentists in Upper Bann parliamentary constituency with new NHS patient registrations. The names of these dentists can be found in Table 1.
	These new NHS patient registrations refer to patients who had not been registered with the dentist at the end of the previous quarter. These may have resulted from patients moving between dentists or may have been re-registration of patients who have not attended the dentist for some time and whose registrations will therefore have expired. Registrations may also have been due to registering for the first time, for example, children or people coming to reside in Northern Ireland.
	
		Table 1: Dentists in Upper Bann parliamentary constituency who have registered new NHS patients during the quarter ending November 2005
		
			 Initial Surname 
		
		
			 K. Adair 
			 W. N. Armstrong 
			 A. S. Armstrong 
			 A. Barker 
			 H. Burnett 
			 M. Copeland 
			 S. Crowe 
			 B. Friel 
			 E. Haughey 
			 M. C. Haycock 
			 B. P. M. Henry 
			 S. Herron 
			 J. E. J. Hulatt 
			 I. J. Hulatt 
			 P. W. Lamont 
			 P. G. Lawson 
			 D. A. Little 
			 N. Magee 
			 P. J. Maguire 
			 D. J. Maguire 
			 I. Martin 
			 S. Matchett 
			 H. K. McAllister 
			 A. McAreavey 
			 G. P. McCleary 
			 S. McConville 
			 M. McDonald 
			 C. A. McGreevy 
			 C. McGreevy 
			 P. D. McGuigan 
			 D. J. McKinney 
			 D. H. Millar 
			 J. R. O'Reilly 
			 J. Orr 
			 K. Palmer 
			 R. A. Smith 
			 L. J. Spence 
			 A. J. Stewart 
			 P. Teggart 
			 H. Topping 
			 J. Vaughan

Departmental Staff

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the 10 highest-paid employees in his Department; what the (a) job title and (b) salary including bonuses is of each; and whether the individual concerned is (i) a civil servant and (ii) a contractor in each case.

Shaun Woodward: The 10 highest-paid employees in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) are civil servants. Their salary ranges can be found in the NIO Departmental Report 2005 (Table 7Senior Civil Service Salaries), a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
	Information on civil service reward, including colleagues at senior levels, is available at http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/index.asp

Examinations (Remarking)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils in Northern Ireland have requested to have their (a) GCSE and (b) A level examination papers re-marked in each of the last 10 years; and how many pupils had their grade improved as a result of re-marking in each year.

Angela Smith: The Council for the Curriculum, Assessment and Examinations has supplied details for candidates taking its examinations from 2001 when the information was computerised. This does not include candidates taking examinations with a number of other awarding bodies that offer GCSEs and A levels in Northern Ireland.
	
		
			 Series Total A level requests Total A level upgrades Total GCSE requests Total GCSE upgrades 
		
		
			 2001 
			 Spring 153 0 3 0 
			 Summer 1,462 168 1,515 291 
			 Winter (36) (36) 16 1 
			  
			 2002 
			 Spring 81 0 0 0 
			 Summer 1,768 158 1,627 344 
			 Winter (36) (36) 18 5 
			  
			 2003 
			 Spring 161 0 3 0 
			 Summer 2,156 203 2,027 533 
			 Winter (36) (36) 33 2 
			  
			 2004 
			 Spring 181 1 3 0 
			 Summer 1,956 224 2,472 645 
			 Winter (36) (36) 44 12 
			  
			 2005 
			 Spring 186 2 0 0 
			 Summer 2,265 237 2,927 705 
		
	
	(36)No A level examinations held in winter session

Floral Displays

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by local authorities on floral displays in each council area in the Province in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Fugitives

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the cost of setting up the system for dealing with terrorist fugitives from justice proposed in the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill.

Peter Hain: The overall cost of the scheme envisaged in the Bill will depend on the numbers of eligible individuals. This is not known at this stage. It is therefore not possible to fully predict the costs of the scheme. The costs will be met from within the NIO's existing resources.

GPs

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prior booked general practitioner appointments members of the public in Northern Ireland failed to keep in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The Department does not centrally hold information on missed appointments at GP surgeries. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Hospital Admissions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people resident in the Republic of Ireland have been admitted to hospital in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Shaun Woodward: The total number admissions 1 classified as an in-patient, day case or regular day/night admission at hospitals in Northern Ireland where the patient was recorded as a resident in the Republic of Ireland is given in the following table. Patients may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
	
		Number of admissions(37) to hospital in Northern Ireland for residents of the Republic of Ireland
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 199596 1,485 
			 199697 1,304 
			 199798 1,424 
			 199899 1,286 
			 19992000 1,936 
			 200001 2,669 
			 200102 2,442 
			 200203 2,324 
			 200304 2,488 
			 200405 2,910 
		
	
	(37)Deaths and discharges are used as an approximation for admissions
	Source:
	Hospital Inpatients System
	Residents of countries within the European Union are entitled to treatment if they are taken ill while visiting another European Union state. Patients may also be transferred to another country under formal contractual arrangements between individual hospitals or health boards if the treatment required is not available locally. Consequently residents from the Republic of Ireland are sometimes treated in Northern Ireland and vice versa.

Hypothyroidism

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the public have complained about their NHS treatment for hypothyroidism in the Province in the last year for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of the level of satisfaction with NHS treatment of hypothyroidism in the Province.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is not available.

Influenza Vaccine

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the percentage uptake of vaccine for influenza was by those who were eligible in the Province in each of the last five years; and what the uptake has been to date in 2005.

Shaun Woodward: Information on the percentage uptake of vaccine for influenza in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table.
	
		Percentage
		
			  Uptake in over-65s Uptake in under-65s 'at risk' 
		
		
			 200001 68 n/a 
			 200102 72 n/a 
			 200203 72 56 
			 200304 73 64 
			 200405 73 65 
			 200506(38) 59 51 
		
	
	n/a=There was no requirement to monitor uptake in this category during these years.
	(38)The figures for 200506 only included those vaccinated up to the end of October 2005. The vaccination campaign does not end until 31 January 2006. Final 200506 influenza vaccination uptake figures will not be available before the beginning of April 2006.
	Source:
	Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (Northern Ireland) (CDSC(NI)).

Irish Language Policy

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland during which periods the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has pursued an Irish language policy since 1997.

Angela Smith: The UK Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is an international convention designed to protect and promote regional and minority languages. In Northern Ireland it applies to Irish and Ulster-Scots. The UK Government signed the Charter on 2 March 2000 and it was ratified on 27 March 2001. The Charter came into force on 1 July 2001.
	As Inter-departmental Charter Implementation Group, chaired by the Department of Culture, Arts  Leisure and comprising all Government Departments that operate in Northern Ireland, developed guidance for public servants to help them meet their obligations under the Charter. Interim guidance on Irish was issued to departments on July 2001 to assist in handling approaches to and from the public. Further guidance on both Irish and Ulster-Scots was issued in January 2005 and was revised in June 2005.
	Since May 2005, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has been using this guidance in drafting its own Language Policy for Irish and Ulster-Scots and it is hoped to have this finalised by early next year.

National Industrial Symbiosis Programme

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why Northern Ireland is not included in the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme.

Angela Smith: I understand from my noble Friend, Lord Rooker, that Northern Ireland received Barnett consequentials as part of the 2004 Spending Review. They were received as a result of funding allocated to DEFRA for increases in the standard rate of landfill tax. As part of the priorities and Budget process, decisions on the allocation of resources have to be taken in the context of local needs and priorities. Therefore, in this instance, it was decided to allocate these resources elsewhere within the Northern Ireland Block where the need is greatest.

NDPBs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those of his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government is required to (a) consult prior to legislative proposals and (b) publish its response to advice from.

Angela Smith: The Government are required to (a) consult prior to legislative proposals the following advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office:
	The Drainage Council for Northern Ireland
	The Statistics Advisory Committee
	Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside
	Northern Ireland Clinical Excellence Awards Committee
	The Poisons Board
	Boundary Commission (not required to consult but legislation is not possible without the Commission having reported recommendations following a review)
	The Northern Ireland Building Regulations Advisory Committee
	and (b) publish its response to advice from:
	Northern Ireland Clinical Excellence Awards Committee
	The Poisons Board
	Boundary Commission

NDPBs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) have a statutory base, (b) publish their advice to Government, (c) publish an annual report and (d) lay an annual report before Parliament; and if he will indicate in each instance whether this is under a statutory requirement.

Angela Smith: The following advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office:
	(a) have a statutory base
	The Disability Living Allowance Board for Northern Ireland
	The Charities Advisory Committee
	The Drainage Council for Northern Ireland
	Northern Ireland Water Council
	The Statistics Advisory Committee
	Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside
	Historic Monuments Council
	Historic Buildings Council
	The Poisons Board
	Boundary Commission
	Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures
	Office of the Oversight Commissioner
	The Northern Ireland Building Regulations Advisory Committee
	(b) publish their advice to Government
	The Drainage Council for Northern Ireland (in so far as minutes of its meetings are published)
	Advisory Council on Infrastructure Investment (not a statutory requirement)
	Northern Ireland Clinical Excellence Awards Committee (under the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
	Boundary Commission (under a statutory requirement)
	Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures (under a statutory requirement)
	Law Reform Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland
	(c) publish an annual report
	The Disability Living Allowance Board for Northern Ireland (no statutory requirement to do so but has a statutory requirement to present an annual report which is published on its website)
	Northern Ireland Clinical Excellence Awards Committee (under the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
	Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside
	Historic Monuments Council
	Historic Buildings Council
	Law Reform Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland
	(d) lay an annual report before Parliament
	Historic Buildings Council (statutory requirement)

NDPBs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) hold public meetings, (b) conduct public consultation exercises, (c) conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, (d) publish a register of members' interests, (e) publish agendas for meetings and (f) publish the minutes of meetings; and whether in each case this is under a statutory requirement.

Angela Smith: The following advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office:
	(a) hold public meetings
	Research and Education Advisory Panel (no statutory requirement)
	(b) conduct public consultation exercises
	Research and Education Advisory Panel (no statutory requirement)
	Boundary Commission (by statutory requirement)
	The Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside
	Law Reform Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland
	(c) conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests
	Research and Education Advisory Panel (no statutory requirement)
	Law Reform Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland
	(d) publish a register of members' interests
	Research and Education Advisory Panel (no statutory requirement)
	Boundary Commission
	(e) publish agendas for meetings
	Research and Education Advisory Panel (no statutory requirement)
	Northern Ireland Water Council (no statutory requirement)
	Statistics Advisory Committee (Freedom of Information requirement)
	Northern Ireland Clinical Excellence Awards Committee (Freedom of Information requirement)
	(f) publish the minutes of meetings
	Drainage Council for Northern Ireland (no statutory requirement)
	Research and Education Advisory Panel (no statutory requirement)
	Advisory Council on Infrastructure Investment (no statutory requirement)
	Statute Law Committee (has not met for some time but intention would be to publish via departmental websiteno statutory requirement)
	Northern Ireland Water Council (no statutory requirement)
	Statistics Advisory Committee (Freedom of Information requirement)
	Northern Ireland Clinical Excellence Awards Committee (Freedom of Information requirement)
	Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (no statutory requirement)
	Historic Buildings Council (no statutory requirement)
	Historic Monuments Council (no statutory requirement)
	The Northern Ireland Building Regulations Advisory Committee (Freedom of Information requirement)

Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what public consultation was conducted before the Government presented the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill;
	(2)  if he will discuss with mental healthcare professionals the impact of the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill.

David Hanson: The Government's proposals to deal with terrorist suspects 'on the run' were published in May 2003 alongside the Joint Declaration. This issue had arisen in the context of talks with the parties.
	Discussions about the technical operation of the scheme envisaged by the Bill have been conducted with interested authorities, including the PSNI.
	A number of victims groups, church leaders, political parties and relevant staff associations were informed of the legislation in the 24 hours preceding introduction. Ministers have subsequently met with a number of those organisations to discuss the legislation.
	There have been no discussions with healthcare professionals. However, Ministers will consider any requests for such meetings or discussions.

Nursing Staff

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why nursing staff in Northern Ireland have been matched and banded differently from nursing staff in England and Wales.

Shaun Woodward: The Agenda for Change matching and banding processes are not yet fully completed in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. In the absence of final outcomes, it is impossible to make any meaningful comparisons at this stage.

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Government Departments in Northern Ireland which have worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers on their e-business strategies and e-government requirements (a) were and (b) are represented on the Project Board for the Northern Ireland Civil Service Electronic Human Resources contract.

Angela Smith: The Government Departments which have worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers on their e-business strategies/e-government requirements and (a) were and (b) are represented on the Project Board for the Northern Ireland Civil Service e-HR contract are; the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure, the Department of the Environment, the Department for Regional Development, the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, the Department of Finance and Personnel, the Department of Enterprise Trade and Industry and the Department of Education

Public Administration (Savings)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will break down the 200 million annual savings that were indicated would be achieved in Northern Ireland as a result of the implementation of the Review of Public Administration by main budget heading.

Angela Smith: Consultants have estimated savings from the RPA decisions at 140-200 million per year. These estimates are based on benchmarks of best practice achieved by other organisations and can be broken down as follows.
	
		 million
		
			 Organisation Estimated savings 
		
		
			 Local government 5473 
			 Education 1830 
			 Health 4171 
		
	
	Note:
	It is also estimated that a further 27 million could be saved through joined up working arrangements.
	The estimates are very tentative and the actual figures will depend on how the proposals are implemented. The actual savings achieved will be available for reallocation to front line services in Northern Ireland.

Punishment Attacks

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many punishment attacks have been attributed by security forces in Northern Ireland to (a) the UDA, (b) the UVF, (c) the LVF, (d) the Provisional IRA, (e) the Continuity IRA and (f) the Real IRA for each of the last 15 months.

Shaun Woodward: I have been advised by the PSNI that 'punishment attacks', (known officially as 'Casualties') by attribution to specific organisations is not possible. However, you may find the following table on 'Casualties as a result of paramilitary style shootings and assaults' for each month since June 2004 to September 2005 of use. You may also find reports of the Independent Monitoring Commission a useful resource. Website: www.tsoshop.co.uk. You should note that the attribution is as perceived by the PSNI and that statistics are provisional and may be subject to minor amendment.
	
		Casualties as a result of paramilitary style shootings and assaults
		
			  Loyalist Republican 
			 Month Shootings Assaults Shootings Assaults 
		
		
			 2004 
			 June 11 9 2 3 
			 July 7 6 2 4 
			 August 9 2 4 1 
			 September 9 8 1 1 
			 October 11 4 0 4 
			 November 4 5 0 6 
			 December 2 5 1 5 
			 2005 
			 January 4 5 4 4 
			 February 6 5 2 5 
			 March 4 5 0 5 
			 April 5 3 2 3 
			 May 11 9 0 5 
			 June 3 13 0 3 
			 July 6 4 2 1 
			 August 7 6 0 0 
			 September 9 9 0 0 
			 Total 108 98 20 50

Quangos

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of (a) the Ulster Unionist Party, (b) the SDLP, (c) the Alliance Party, (d) the DUP and (e) the former Women's Coalition are members of a quango in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Those appointed to the boards of public bodies in Northern Ireland are not required to declare if they are members of a political party. However, they are asked to declare any significant political activity they may have undertaken in the five years prior to the date of their application.
	Information on the declared political activity of applicants and appointees to bodies sponsored by 'Northern Ireland's 11 Government Departments and the Northern Ireland Office can be found in the Public Appointments annual report for 200405 and the NIO departmental report for 2005. These reports are available from the Library of the House and can be found on the internet at www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/public-appointments and www.nio.gov.uk/departmental_report2005.pdf .

Road Upgrades

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to initiate an upgrade of the main road from Belfast International Airport to the M1 Moira Junction.

Shaun Woodward: The chief executive of Roads Service Dr. Malcolm McKibbin has been asked to write to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcom McKibbin, dated 12 December 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding what plans he has to initiate an upgrade of the main road from Belfast International Airport to the Ml Moira Junction. I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	The main road from the Belfast International Airport to the Ml is via the A57 Templepatrick Road to Killead Roundabout and then the A26, joining the Ml at the Moira junction. The A26 is one of five Key Transport Corridors in the Province.
	The Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan (RSTN TP) announced by the then Minister for Regional Development, John Spellar MP, on 22nd March 2005, presented a range of multi-modal transport initiatives to manage, maintain and develop Northern Ireland's Key Transport Network up to the year 2015.
	During preparation of the RSTN TP, the transport links to Belfast International Airport were examined and it was concluded that the three roads radiating from the Killead Roundabout, including the A26, provided good links to the strategic road network, servicing Northern Ireland and beyond.
	Nevertheless, three widened single carriageway schemes on the A26 have been included in the Plan to improve safety and provide overtaking opportunities.
	Differential Acceleration Lanes have been contructed at the Nutts Corner roundabout at a cost of approximately 800k and a 0.8 kilometre climbing lane has been provided on the south bound section of this route at Carnkilly Road and Furze Road at a cost of 260K. A further climbing lane is planned on the A26 near Glenavy.
	It is also proposed to provide part time signals at the junction of the eastbound off-slip from the M1 and the Moira roundabout at a cost of 40k to improve traffic management.
	Although the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan (BMTP) did not recommend any specific major improvements to the A26/A57, it did recommend that route management strategies be undertaken on all key strategic routes. I can advise that it is planned to commence a route management strategy along the A26 during 2006/07, which will consider what other improvements may be necessary.

Schools (Abuse Claims)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints of (a) physical abuse and (b) sexual abuse were forwarded to the police by (i) Roman Catholic Diocesan officials and (ii) schools in the maintained sector in Northern Ireland in each year for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: The Police Service of Northern Ireland do not hold this information on a central record. To obtain such details would require a manual trawl of crime files which would be at disproportionate cost.

Secondary Teachers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many secondary school teachers in Northern Ireland have (a) a first class degree, (b) a 2:1 degree, (c) a 2:2 degree, (d) a third class degree and (e) no degree.

Angela Smith: The number of current teachers in secondary schools in Northern Ireland who have (a) a first class degree, (b) a 2:1 degree, (c) a 2:2 degree, (d) a third class degree and (e) no degree are as follows:
	
		Table 1: Teachers currently employed in secondary schools
		
			  School type 
			  Secondary Special Total 
		
		
			 Higher degree 286 17 303 
			 First class degree 179 23 202 
			 2:1 degree 1,949 206 2,155 
			 2:2 degree 1,863 168 1,031 
			 Third class degree 160 8 168 
			 Pass degree 1,838 207 2,045 
			 No degree 1,174 245 1,419 
			 Total 7,449 874 8,323 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Contains full-time and pro-rata teachers.
	2.Pass degree column includes teachers' records with one of the following degree classifications: no classification, unknown classification and Pass degree classification.
	3.No degree column refers to teachers with no degree details recorded on Teachers' Pensions, Pay and Administration system or teachers whose only degree qualification held is unverified; these teachers hold other teaching qualifications.
	4.These figures have been compiled from the teachers paid in relevant schools in November 2005.
	
		Table 2: Current temporary/substitute teachers
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Higher degree 380 
			 First class degree 320 
			 2:1 degree 2,945 
			 2:2 degree 2,973 
			 Third class degree 268 
			 Pass degree 2,835 
			 No degree 6,534 
			 Total 16,255 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Contains ALL temporary and part-time hourly paid teachers.
	2.Pass degree column includes teachers' records with one of the following degree classifications: no classification, unknown classification and Pass degree classification.
	3.No degree column refers to teachers with no degree details recorded on Teachers' Pensions, Pay and Administration system or teachers whose only degree qualification held is unverified; these teachers hold other teaching qualifications.
	4.These figures have been compiled from ALL substitute/temporary teachers currently held on the system.

Sperrin Lakeland Trust

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to ensure a fair representation from the Omagh area in filling vacancies within the Board of Sperrin Lakeland Trust.

Shaun Woodward: Appointments to the board of Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Services Trust will be made in accordance with the Department's appointment procedures, which are governed by the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.
	I have the ultimate responsibility for these appointments which will be based solely on merit. Non-executive directors are not appointed to represent any particular interest or group but because of the personal skills and experience they possess which will assist the running of the trust.

Sperrin Lakeland Trust

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) the criteria are and (b) selection process is for filling the vacancies for the Board of Sperrin Lakeland Trust.

Shaun Woodward: The information is as follows.
	(a) For the position of trust non-executive director in Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust, candidates had to meet five standard essential criteria, namely:
	Making an impact with others;
	Committing to the non-executive role;
	Thinking strategically;
	Analytical thinking; and
	Learning and self-development.
	Shortlisting was required and the specific desirable criteria for these posts were experience in the fields of:
	Human resources; or
	Finance; or
	Health and social care.
	(b) The standard departmental public appointments selection process, which is consistent with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland, is underway to fill the non-executive director vacancies. The outcome is expected in the near future.

Sperrin Lakeland Trust

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are on the public appointments list to be considered for vacancies on the Board of Sperrin Lakeland Trust; and when he expects the vacancies within the Board of Sperrin Lakeland Trust to be filled.

Shaun Woodward: The Department advertises appointment opportunities widely and has established a database of potential candidates, who have been assessed as suitable to be considered for a range of appointments. Two-hundred and twelve candidates were contacted about the vacancies on the board of Sperrin Lakeland Trust. Interviews took place on 28 November and 5 and 6 December 2005 and a decision will be made in the near future.

Sustainable Development

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how often the group of deputy secretaries known as the sustainable development champions within the Department of the Environment met in each of the past 12 months; and if he will list the occasions on which the Permanent Secretary of the Department of the Environment chaired such a meeting.

Angela Smith: A Sustainable Development Champion has been nominated from each of the 11 departments within the Northern Ireland Civil Service. A meeting of the champions as a group was held on 7 June 2005 shortly after their nominations were finalised. The Permanent Secretary of the Department of the Environment chaired the meeting on 7 June 2005 and also chaired bilateral meetings with Champions on 2 and 4 August 2005 and the 8 and 13 of September 2005.

Sustainable Development

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the sustainable development strategy for Northern Ireland will be published by the Department of the Environment.

Angela Smith: The Department of the Environment proposes to publish the Sustainable Development Strategy for Northern Ireland by the end of March 2006.

Tyrone County Hospital

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the (a) correspondence, (b) meetings and (c) discussions he has had with those (i)against and (ii) in favour of his plans for acute services and accident and emergency at the Tyrone County Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: In recent months there have been a large number of meetings with local communities and their representatives in relation to the future provision of acute services in the Sperrin Lakeland area. These meetings are ongoing.
	On 11 October I issues for consultation the paper Making Services Safer in Sperrin Lakeland Trust. The consultation period lasted for six weeks, ending on 25 November.
	A significant volume of written comment has been received in response to the proposals set out in the consultation document. This also must be set in the context of three years of consultation about services across Northern Ireland and including Sperrin Lakeland. My officials are now collating and analysing those recent comments for consideration and the Department will publish a summary of the responses received in the near future.

Ulster Scots and Gaelic

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for NorthernIreland what plans he has to reconstitute the membership of the Ulster Scots Agency Board.

Peter Hain: The provisions for making appointments to the Boards of the North South Implementation Bodies are made in the North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999. The British and Irish Governments have decided to extend the periods of appointment of all current Board members by a further year until 12 December 2006, but on the understanding that, since both Governments are committed to an early restoration of devolution and the institutions, the terms of office may be subject to review in the event of political progress.

Ulster Scots and Gaelic

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will ensure equality of funding between Ulster Scots and Gaelic.

David Hanson: Her Majesty's Government remains wholly committed to affording equal respect and recognition to the Irish and Ulster Scots languages and culture. The funding provided to each reflects their differing ranges of projects, programmes and supported organisations and is determined on the basis of the approved actions in their respective annual business plans.

Vehicle Excise Duty

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland paid the (a) full rate of vehicle excise duty and (b) reduced rate for carbon emission vehicles in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: In 2001, a system of relating the rate of vehicle excise duty payable by cars and light vans to the level of CO 2 emission was introduced. Cars and light vans registered before 1 March 2001 pay excise duty according to their engine size. Breaking down the CO 2 category by band could be undertaken only at disproportionate costs.
	The number of cars and light vans licensed in these categories at 31 December each year since 2001 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Category 
			  By CO 2  emission By engine size Total 
		
		
			 31 December 2001 55,519 589,449 644,968 
			 31 December 2002 126,011 540,720 666,731 
			 31 December 2003 200,728 511,185 711,913 
			 31 December 2004 274,411 462,787 737,198

Vehicle Excise Duty

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many motorists in Northern Ireland have been found guilty of non-payment of vehicle excise duty in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: It is the policy to offer out of court settlements to motorists detected driving unlicensed vehicles. Summons are only issued where this course of action has failed.
	The number of cases which attracted payment for vehicle excise duty offences over each of the past 10 years were:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 199596 27,611 
			 199697 26,116 
			 199798 24,802 
			 199899 14,897 
			 19992000 13,158 
			 200001 15,428 
			 200102 15,966 
			 200203 13,932 
			 200304 10,876 
			 200405 24,464

Vehicle Licence Detection Units

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many mobile vehicle licence detection units were in operation in Northern Ireland in (a) 2000 and (b) 2005.

Angela Smith: Wheel-clamping units were introduced in Northern Ireland in 1998 and camera detection units in 2001. The number of detection units for each of the two years are:
	2000
	1 wheel-clamping
	2005
	2 wheel-clamping
	3 permanent camera, and
	3 temporary camera units

Vehicle Licence Detection Units

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are used to determine the siting of mobile vehicle licence detection units in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Mobile vehicle detection is undertaken by automatic number plate reader (ANPRs) units. ANPRs are deployed on a rolling programme across Northern Ireland. The main criterion is to maximise the potential to detect unlicensed vehicles but recognising the need to ensure that the siting does not cause a traffic hazard.
	ANPRs are also deployed as requested by PSNI to assist in joint exercises with other enforcement authorities.

Vehicle Licence Detection Units

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Northern Ireland how many vehicle owners were prosecuted as a result of mobile vehicle licence detection units in Northern Ireland in each year since 2000.

Angela Smith: Units to wheel-clamp unlicensed vehicles were introduced in Northern Ireland in 1998 and camera detection units in 2001. Output from the wheel-clamping units is measured in the number of vehicles clamped not prosecutions. Separate recording of prosecutions arising from enforcement action by camera units did not begin until 200304. For vehicle excise duty offences it is the normal policy to offer out of court settlements rather than proceed direct to court. Resulting from camera detections, in 200304 1,695 people paid out of court (OCS) settlements and 217 were prosecuted in court. In 200405, 1,830 paid OCSs and 306 were prosecuted in court.

Violent Offender and Sex Offender Register

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Police Information Technology Organisation's roll out of the Violent Offender and Sex Offender Register in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The Violent Offender and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR), is a secure, confidential, fully auditable national database which allows the police, probation and prison services to monitor and manage sexual and violent offenders and others who may cause serious harm to the public. The Police Service of Northern Ireland has full connectivity to ViSOR and will be implementing it throughout the organisation within the next few weeks. Northern Ireland Prison Service is considering how they might use ViSOR in the future and the Probation Board for Northern Ireland is also investigating access to ViSOR.

Zebra Mussels

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to deal with the outbreak of zebra mussels in Lough Neagh.

Angela Smith: I can confirm that zebra mussels have become established in Lough Neagh at Kinnego Marina. They are expected to spread and reach maximum numbers in three or four years time. This will have uncertain implications for fish, birds, water abstraction, navigation and other interests within the Lough. Nothing can be done to eradicate them or prevent their spread within Lough Neagh.
	Officials are investigating their present distribution and putting in place a monitoring programme to track their future expansion and impact on other biological elements in the lake. Users have been alerted to the situation and we will work closely with them to develop mitigation measures.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Legislative Consultation

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House if he will list those of his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government are required to (a) consult prior to legislative proposals and (b) publish their response to advice from.

Nigel Griffiths: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons does not sponsor any advisory non-departmental public bodies.

Pay Rise (Hon. Members)

Bob Spink: To ask the Leader of the House what recent representations he has received regarding the pay rise for hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: As Leader of the House, I receive comments on a regular basis from a range of Members on the next SSRB Review of Parliamentary Pay and Allowances.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Archbishop Peter Smith

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had with Archbishop Peter Smith about the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Mental Capacity Act is about helping vulnerable people, and those who care for them, to make decisions. It provides a clear legal framework and safeguards to ensure that decisions will always be taken in the individual's best interests.
	Throughout the development of this legislation the Government have listened to those with an interest in it. This includes Parliament, people who may lack capacity and their carers and families, many voluntary organisations and the Catholic Church. There have been no recent discussions with the Catholic Church on the operation of the Mental Capacity Act.
	The Act is due to be fully implemented by April 2007. The Government will continue to work closely with all stakeholders who have an interest up to that date and beyond to ensure that we deliver the real benefits that the legislation sets out.

Chelmsford Crown Court

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will place in the Library a list of the cases tried by each of the Crown court judges sitting at Chelmsford Crown Court in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Harriet Harman: A list of the cases tried by each of the Crown court judges sitting at Chelmsford Crown Court in each of the last five years has now been placed in the Library.

Information Commissioner

Peter Law: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the adequacy of resources made available to the Information Commissioner to carry out his responsibilities; and what discussions she has had with the Information Commissioner on ways to speed up the processing of Freedom of Information Act appeals made to his office.

Harriet Harman: The Secretary of State is in regular dialogue with the Information Commissioner about his responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act. The Information Commissioner has analysed his current workload and concluded that the high volume of appeals that he is processing at present are a result of the initial influx of requests that public authorities experienced in the first few months of FOI implementation.

Legal Costs

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what limits apply to legal costs for personal injury cases; and what plans there are to raise the limits.

Harriet Harman: Certain limits apply to the costs recoverable in cases under the small claims track and in relation to trials in fast track cases. In addition, Part 45 of the Civil Procedure Rules also provides for other fixed costs and fixed success fees in certain circumstances. The Government have no current plans to raise these limits.

National Security Appeals Panel

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the judgments have been published in each case decided by the National Security Appeals Panel under (a) section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and (b) section 60 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each calendar year since its inception; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: l refer the member for Hornsey and Wood Green to the answer I gave on 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 643W.

Royal Household

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2005, Official Report, column1058W, on state prayers, what constitutes the Royal Household for the purposes of her reply; to which (a) members of HM the Queen's family and (b) officials it extends; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: For the purposes of the reply quoted, The Royal Household is taken to include those employed by members of the Royal Family who are authorised to act on behalf of the member of the Royal Family in fulfilling his or her public and official roles. When the term Royal Family is used in an official context it refers to The Queen and those members of Her Majesty's family who regularly undertake official duties and functions on Her Majesty's behalf.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Adviser Discretionary Fund

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the average payment was from the Adviser Discretionary Fund in each year since July 2001; and how many people received payments from the fund in each year;
	(2)  what maximum amount can be claimed under the Adviser Discretionary Fund in any 12-month period; when this was last revised; and how he notifies the House of such changes;
	(3)  how much his Department spent on the Adviser Discretionary Fund in each year since July 2001; and how much his Department has budgeted to spend on it in (a) 200506, (b) 200607 and (c) 200708.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what the average payment was from the Adviser Discretion Fund (ADF) in each year since July 2001, how many people received payments from the fund, what maximum amount can be claimed from the fund in any 12 month period, when this was last reviewed, how the House is notified of such changes, how much the Department spent on ADF in each year since July 2001, and how much the Department has budgeted to spend on it in the current year and 200607 and 200708. These areas fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Information relating to the total spend, the average value of a payment and the number of awards made for each year since ADF was introduced in July 2001 is contained in the table below. The number of individuals that have received an award of ADF is not available because a customer may access the ADF more than once if necessary.
	
		
		
			  Total spend Average payment Number of awards 
		
		
			 200102 5,687,775 60 104,388 
			 200203 16,285,006 76 138,370 
			 200304 33,621,757 97 345,189 
			 200405 40,543,285 99 409,389 
		
	
	28,044,000 has been allocated for the ADF in this financial year. Jobcentre Plus has not yet agreed final ADF allocations for the 200607 and 200708 financial years.
	On 9 May 2005 the procedures governing the administration of the ADF changed. The maximum amount that can be paid to a customer through ADF in any 12 month period without a business case to support the payment was reduced from 300 to 100. As this relates to a change of operational procedures and not a change in the nature of the ADF, it was not considered necessary to notify the House.
	I hope this is helpful.

Agency Staff

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by (a) the Employment Service, (b) the Benefits Agency and (c) Jobcentre Plus in each of the last five years; and what the projected staff levels are in each organisation for the next three years.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning how many full time equivalent staff were employed by a) the Employment Service b) the Benefits Agency and c)Jobcentre plus in each of the last five years, and the projected staff levels in Jobcentre Plus for the next three years. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The tables below show full time equivalent staff for each organisation for the last five financial years.
	
		
			 Year ending 31 March Employment Service Benefits Agency 
		
		
			 2001 34,110 70,510 
			 2002 34,040 68,081 
		
	
	In 2002, following the formation of the Department for Work and Pensions, the Benefits Agency and Employment Service ceased to exist. As work from the Benefits Agency was divided between the Pensions Service and Jobcentre Plus, a direct comparison of total staffing before and after this change cannot be made.
	
		
			 Year ending 31 March Jobcentre Plus 
		
		
			 2003 78,512 
			 2004 79,044 
			 2005 73,900 
		
	
	The projected staffing levels for Jobcentre Plus the next three years are:
	
		
			  Projected staffing levels 
		
		
			 31 March 2006 71,008 
			 31 March 2007 68,350 
			 31 March 2008 66,461 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

Benefit Exit Rates

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have come off benefits and entered work in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Normanton constituency since 2001.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The Department for Work and Pensions Research Report No 244Destination of benefit leavers 2004showed that nationally, 62 per cent. of claimants leaving income support, incapacity benefit or jobseekers allowance entered employment of 16 hours or more a week. Copies of the report are available in the Library.

Benefits Helpline

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions why the automated response on the (a) income support and (b) incapacity benefit telephone helpline was in Welsh only on 30 November.

James Plaskitt: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning why the automated response on the (a) Income Support and (b) Incapacity Benefit telephone helpline was in Welsh only on 30 November. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	For those customers who wish to contact the Wrexham Processing Centre there are two telephone numbers they can use, one for those wanting to speak in Welsh and the other for those preferring to use English. I am not aware that there was a problem with the English Language line on 30 November. Having investigated this matter, I can confirm that the English Language line is operating correctly.
	There is an issue with the Welsh Language telephone line incorrectly providing an English greeting, although once the customer has selected the option for the benefit they wish to discuss, they are transferred to a Welsh speaking member of staff. We are working with British Telecom to rectify this problem as a matter of urgency.
	I hope this is helpful.

Customer Management Systems

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the areas where the customer management system is in use; and when he expects the system to be rolled out to all areas.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me toreply to your question concerning the deployment of the Customer Management System (CMS) in the Jobcentre Plus network. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The following list shows the areas where CMS is in full or partial use. CMS is being implemented in tandem with the wider rollout of the Jobcentre Plus service and I expect this to be substantially completed by Summer 2006.
	
		
			 Region/District Fully rolled out- partial rollout 
		
		
			 East Midlands  
			 Derbyshire Full 
			 Leicestershire Full 
			 Lincolnshire and Rutland Partial 
			 Northamptonshire Full 
			 Nottinghamshire Partial 
			   
			 East of England  
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Partial 
			 Cambridgeshire Partial 
			 Norfolk Partial 
			 Essex Partial 
			 Suffolk Full 
			   
			 London  
			 Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon Partial 
			 Central London Partial 
			 City and East London Partial 
			 Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth Partial 
			 North London Partial 
			 South East London Partial 
			 South London Partial 
			 North East London Partial 
			 West London Full 
			   
			 North East  
			 City of Sunderland Partial 
			 Durham Partial 
			 Gateshead and South Tyneside Full 
			 Northumbria Full 
			 Tees Valley Full 
			   
			 North West  
			 Cheshire and Warrington Partial 
			 Cumbria Full 
			 Lancashire East Partial 
			 Greater Manchester Central Partial 
			 Greater Manchester East Partial 
			 Greater Manchester West Partial 
			 Greater Mersey Full 
			 Lancashire West Partial 
			 Liverpool and Wirral Full 
			   
			 Scotland  
			 ADGI Partial 
			 Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders Partial 
			 Forth Valley and Fife Partial 
			 Glasgow Partial 
			 HICC Partial 
			 Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire Partial 
			 South East  
			 Bucks and Oxon and Berkshire Partial 
			 Hampshire Partial 
			 Kent Partial 
			 Surrey and Sussex Partial 
			   
			 South West  
			 Devon and Cornwall Full 
			 Dorset and Somerset Full 
			 Gloucester, Wiltshire and Swindon Partial 
			 West of England Partial 
			   
			 Wales  
			 Bridgend Full 
			 Cardiff and Vale Full 
			 Eastern Valleys Partial 
			 N.W. Wales Partial 
			 S.E. Wales Full 
			 Swansea Bay Partial 
			 West Wales Partial 
			 Wrexham and N.W. Coast Partial 
			   
			 West Midlands  
			 Birmingham and Solihull Partial 
			 Black Country Partial 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire Partial 
			 Staffordshire Partial 
			 The Marches Partial 
			   
			 Yorkshire and Humberside  
			 Barnsley Doncaster and Rotherham Partial 
			 Bradford Partial 
			 Calderdale and Kirklees Partial 
			 East Yorkshire and Humber Partial 
			 Leeds Partial 
			 North Yorkshire Partial 
			 Sheffield Full 
			 Wakefield Partial 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

Customer Management Systems

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average number of days taken (a) to call back and (b) from call back to interview date for each Customer Management System centre was in the last period for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 6 December 2005
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning what the average number of days taken is (a) to call back and (b) from call back to interview date for each Customer Management System centre. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Our aim is to call customers back within 24 hours of the inbound call. The latest data we have available is for week ending 25 November 2005 where the average across all contact centres is 1.6 days. The call back data for each CMS contact centre operating call-backs for the same period is listed in the table below.
	
		Week ending 25 November 2005
		
			  Contact Centre Time taken to call customer (days ahead or day ahead) 
		
		
			 Blackburn 2 
			 Bootle 4 
			 Bridgend 1 
			 Coventry 3 
			 Derby 1 
			 Dundee 3 
			 Garston 1 
			 Grimsby 1 
			 Halifax Within 1 
			 Hastings 1 
			 Lincoln 1 
			 Marton Mere 3 
			 Middlesbrough 1 
			 Newcastle 3 
			 Paisley 1 
			 Pembroke Dock 2 
			 Poole 2 
			 Sheffield 1 
			 Taunton 3 
			 Telford 1 
			 Torquay Within 1 
		
	
	We have an internal standard to complete work-focused interviews within 4 days of initial contact with the customer. Twelve of our centres captured data from 273 Local Service Outlets over a sample period from 16th September 2005 to 25th November 2005 on the waiting times for these interviews. This information is in the table.
	
		
			 Week ending Average waiting time in days 
		
		
			 16 September 2005 7.2 
			 23 September 2005 7.7 
			 30 September 2005 8.0 
			 7 October 2005 7.8 
			 14 October 2005 8.5 
			 21 October 2005 8.0 
			 28 October 2005 7.6 
			 4 November 2005 7.3 
			 11 November 2005 6.2 
			 18 November 2005 5.0 
			 25 November 2005 5.3 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

Debt Advisers

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many debt advisers are working in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield district and (c) Normanton constituency; and whether staffing levels are planned to increase over the Christmas period.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questionconcerning how many debt advisers are working in (a)West Yorkshire (b) Wakefield district and (c) Normanton constituency and whether staffing levels are planned to increase over the Christmas period. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	No debt advice is given by Jobcentre Plus staff in any Jobcentre including West Yorkshire. In addition to dealing with general benefit entitlement and providing help to customers to move into work, staff handle Crisis Loan and Budgeting Loan applications but do not offer or give debt advice.
	Staff resources over the Christmas period has been finalised, with staffing levels set in order to deal with anticipated numbers of benefit claims and predicted Crisis Loan applications.
	I hope this is helpful.

Denise Christina Arathoon

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Department has spent on (a) administrative and (b) legal proceedings in relation to Denise Christina Arathoon.

Anne McGuire: It is not possible to accurately quantify the administrative costs as all administrative work resulting from the court case will be absorbed within normal work processes.
	The Department spent an estimated 10,350 on the legal proceedings. This includes Mrs. Arathoon's legal costs in the Court of Appeal, but does not include work done by the Department's staff.

Departmental Reviews/Publications

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list (a) reviews undertaken and (b) departmental publications issued on (i) housing benefit and (ii) council tax benefit since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The Department keeps both housing benefit and council tax benefit under constant Review.
	The Department publishes a number of handbooks and guidance manuals, together with necessary amendments, to aid local authorities in the administration of these benefits. In addition, the Department issues circulars and bulletins to local authorities, which provide necessary information on a more immediate basis. Since 1997, the Department has issued 407 administration circulars, 175 fraud circulars, 64 subsidy circulars, 18 general bulletins and 19 urgent bulletins.
	The Department also publishes research and statistical reports. A list of reports relating to housing benefit and council tax benefit, together with details of relevant web sites, has been placed in the Library.

Economic Regeneration (Ribble Valley)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the Department's contribution to economic regeneration in Ribble Valley.

Margaret Hodge: Since 1997 claimant unemployment has fallen by 34 per cent., long term unemployment by 68 per cent. and long term youth unemployment by 67 per cent. in Ribble Valley. The number of out of work lone parents has fallen by 33 per cent. and those claiming incapacity benefits has fallen by 8 per cent. over the same period.
	East Lancashire Jobcentre Plus district has made a significant contribution to these successes. In addition to the new deals, which have helped 840 people in to work, they also operate Action Team for Jobs, Progress2Work Linkup and Workstep helping a broad range of the local community to improve their skills and find work.
	Specific success stories include the Ethnic Minority Outreach programme. This small team works with the local Asian community by, for example, announcing recruitments in mosques and placing adverts in local businesses. Since May 2005, 116 people have been helped in to jobs by this team.
	The Pathways to Work Incapacity Benefit Reforms Pilot has been operational in East Lancashire since April 2004 and is already achieving excellent results and feedback. The district achieved 1,179 job entries from the sick and disabled group of customers during the period April 2004 to March 2005 in comparison with 384 for the same period the year before.
	The district is also involved in the Extension of the Pathways to Work Pilot. The Extension Pilot has been operational In East Lancashire from 7 February 2005 and to date has resulted in 70 customers returning to work.

Housing Benefit

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2005, Official Report, column 1271W, on housing benefit, what factors explain the variation in the proportion of tenants whose local housing allowance is being paid direct to the landlord in each of the nine Pathfinder authorities.

James Plaskitt: The Department has not undertaken any further analysis to identify additional factors that influence the variation in the proportion of tenants whose local housing allowance is being paid directly to the landlord in Pathfinder areas.

Housing Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of raising the restriction on the number of hours a week a housing benefit recipient can study to (a) 20 hours and (b) 24 hours.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available from which to make such an estimate.

Housing Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will meet representatives of the Foyer Federation to discuss the impact of housing benefit regulations on the ability of young people in housing need to achieve qualifications below degree level;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of ending the restriction on the number of hours a week a housing benefit recipient can study if they are retaking GCSEs, studying for A-Levels or for an NVQ at level 3 or below;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the 16 hour housing benefit rule on the number of young people over the age of 19 who are able to take up education and training opportunities without losing their homes; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  if he will amend the 16 hour rule for housing benefit for young people between the ages of 19 and 21 years.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 1 December 2005
	Work to review the interaction between study rules and benefits is on-going.
	Ministerial colleagues have already met and discussed through correspondence a wide range of issues relating to the rules on study and housing benefit with representatives from the Foyer Federation.
	Individuals receiving housing benefit can currently study for qualifications below degree level, as long as it is for less than 16 guided learning hours a week. This is not always a significant barrier as many full-time Learning and Skills Council courses are just over 12 guided learning hours a week.
	It is a matter of record that the policy of both this and previous Governments has been to exclude most, but not all, full-time students from entitlement to housing benefit; since 1990 financial support for those students opting to study full time has been seen as the responsibility of the education system, rather than the benefit system.
	One of the outcomes of the recent Social Exclusion Report Review of Financial Support, Supporting Young People to Achieve is that from April 2006, if someone is in non-advanced education when they turn 19 they can continue to receive certain benefits, including income support, and therefore housing benefit, and education maintenance allowance until they have completed their current course of study or reach age 20.
	This is clearly an improvement on the previous situation, but it is likely that there will still be some young people who have had to abandon their attempts to catch up on learning because they reach 20 before they have finished their course. Because of this, the Government are committed to keeping this new age limit under review.
	Additionally, we recognise that for some a different approach may be needed. Consequently, from next September as part of the New Deal for Skills we will be piloting in some Jobcentre Plus districts the effect of allowing low skilled jobseekers to take up full-time further education courses as a route into work when a lack of skills is considered to be a significant barrier.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average administration cost per claimant was of housing benefit in each of the last five years in each benefit authority.

James Plaskitt: The Department does not collect management information relating to the cost to local authorities of administering housing benefit under the existing national scheme. The Department has recently commissioned a research project looking into the overall administration costs of housing benefit and council tax benefit which may help us obtain an indication of these costs in the future.

Housing Benefit

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of removing the single room rent upper limit on housing benefit provisions for those aged under 25 years.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 8 December 2005
	The cost of removing the single room rent upper limit on housing benefit for those aged under 25 years in the private rented sector has been estimated to be at least 60 million per year.

Inactive Benefits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of inactive benefits in Coventry South moved back to work in 200405.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 5 December 2005
	The information is not available in the format requested. The Department for Work and Pensions Research Report No 244Destination of benefit leavers 2004showed that nationally, 62 per cent. of claimants leaving income support, incapacity benefit or jobseekers allowance entered employment of 16 hours or more a week. Copies of the report are available in the Library.

Incapacity Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many existing incapacity benefit claimants who voluntarily entered the Pathways to Work pilots had been claiming benefit for (a) one month, (b) two to three months, (c) three to six months, (d) six to 12 months, (e) 12 to 24 months and (f) 24 months and over prior to entering the pilot; and what proportion found work.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 7 November 2005
	The available information is in the tables.
	
		Incapacity benefit claimants who have volunteered to enter Pathways to WorkTotal
		
			 Length of claim prior to entering pilot Pathways starts Job entries Job entry proportion (percentage) 
		
		
			 Less than three months 910 230 26 
			 Three to six months 650 310 47 
			 Six to 12 months 1,850 650 35 
			 12 to 24 months 2,720 1,030 38 
			 More than 24 months 6,400 2,190 34 
		
	
	
		Incapacity benefit claimants who have volunteered to enter Pathways to Workattended Work Focused Interviews (WFIs)
		
			 Length of claim prior to entering pilot WFIs attended Job entries Job entry proportion (percentage) 
		
		
			 Less than three months 760 170 22 
			 Three to six months 270 130 47 
			 Six to 12 months 750 290 38 
			 12 to 24 months 1,110 420 38 
			 More than 24 months 2,440 910 37 
		
	
	
		Incapacity benefit claimants who have volunteered to enter Pathways to Workattended Work Focused Interviews (WFIs) and Choices starts
		
			 Length of claim prior to entering pilot WFIs and Choices starts Job entries Job entry proportion (percentage) 
		
		
			 Less than three months 130 70 55 
			 Three to six months 80 50 63 
			 Six to 12 months 220 130 58 
			 12 to 24 months 350 160 47 
			 More than 24 months 760 370 48 
		
	
	
		New incapacity benefit claimants eligible for mandatory entry in to Pathways to Work
		
			  Total Job entries Job entry proportion (percentage) 
		
		
			 Total Pathways Starts 135,460 15,190 11 
			 Work Focus Interviews  Attended 44,460 6,990 16 
			 Work Focus Interviews  Attended and Choices start 9,920 3,500 35 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Data is to the end of August 2005.
	2.Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	3.Incapacity benefit durations of one month cannot be identified separately.
	Source:
	Pathways to Work Evaluation Database

Income Support

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will apply the same rules for payment of carer's allowance and income support to carers of people who are in receipt of low rate disability living allowance while applying for a higher rate due to their condition worsening as applies to the payment of those benefits to carers of people whose application for disability living allowance is still being processed; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The rules governing entitlement to carer's allowance and any consequent entitlement there might be to a carer premium in the income-related benefits or to a carer's additional amount in pension credit, are the same in both circumstances.

Integrated Benefits

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the failed call rate has been for Jobcentre Plus areas operating integrated benefit system pilots;
	(2)  what is the average duration of telephone benefitapplications in integrated benefit system pilot areas.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning failed call rates and durations of calls for new claims to working age benefits. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	It may be helpful if I explain that, to make a claim in an area operating the new Jobcentre Plus model, the customer calls a contact centre. Contact centre staff ask the customer a series of questions to assess their potential eligibility to Jobcentre Plus benefits. They then arrange to call the customer back to complete the claim form, which is sent to the customer to check and sign. They will also arrange a work focused interview at the customer's local Jobcentre Plus office where this is appropriate.
	Our aim is to answer 90% of calls made to the contact centre. The most recent information we have is for week ending 4 November 2005 when we answered 81.5% of calls.
	With regard to the duration of telephone benefit applications, we do not hold information on the average length of telephone calls to gather all the information necessary to complete a claim form. However we do have the average length of the initial call made by the customer. The most recent information shows that this is taking an average of 12 minutes.
	I hope this is helpful.

Job Vacancies

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies there are in Tamworth constituency; how many there were on the same date last year; and what the vacancy rate in England is per 1,000 of population.

Margaret Hodge: Nationally the number of vacancies remains at a historically high level. The latest vacancy survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates there were 605.1 thousand unfilled vacancies in the quarter to October 2005, compared to 638.4 thousand this time last year. The ONS vacancy ratio for the UK for October 2005 (the latest data) is 2.3. This is the number of vacancies per 100 employee jobs. The specific information requested on the vacancy rate for England is not available.
	More than 10,000 new vacancies are placed at Jobcentres every working day and at least as many again come up through other recruitment channels. In the Tamworth constituency 427 vacancies were notified to Jobcentre Plus in November 2004, rising to 662 in October 2005.

Jobcentre Plus

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the latest estimate is of the cost of rolling out the Jobcentre Plus programme; what the annual running cost will be; and what the cost of running Jobcentre offices was in the last year of their operation.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning: the latest estimate of the cost of rolling out the Jobcentre Plus programme; what the annual running cost will be; and what the cost of running Jobcentre offices was in the last year of their operation. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The latest cost estimate for completion of the rollout programme is just in excess of 2 billion against an original budget of 2.2 billion. The latest estimate of the running costs for the whole of Jobcentre Plus for 200506 is 2,592 million. The latest estimate on the annual savings on running costs that can be expected once the rollout programme is completed amounts to 20 million per annum.
	Running costs are not monitored at the level of individual Jobcentre offices so I am unable to answer the final question raised. The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State forWork and Pensions 
	(1)  what consultations have been undertaken to assess (a) the impact of Jobcentre Plus's Response to Displayed Vacancies system on (i)employment figures and (ii) local communities and (b) the effectiveness of the system;
	(2)  what analysis has been undertaken to assess the cost of implementing Jobcentre Plus's Response to Displayed Vacancies system.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning Jobcentre Plus' Response to Displayed Vacancies (RDV) system. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Prior to the creation of Jobcentre Plus, the Employment Service embarked on its Modernising Employment Service (MES) programme. Part of this programme was to change RDV (card vacancies) to touch screen kiosks or Jobpoints, whilst ensuring that the needs and expectations of individual customers were met. As RDV was the preceding system, I have taken your question to be referring to Jobpoints.
	A wide variety of research has been carried out to assess the impact of these changes, and the use of Jobpoints, on local communities and the effectiveness of Jobcentre Plus systems. This includes:
	a Jobseeker Direct Customer Satisfaction Survey;
	a quantitative telephone survey of over 3,000 Jobcentre Plus customers;
	Greater London Enterprise carried out three sweeps of the Qualitative Employer Survey and the Customer Service Centre Case Studies;
	an Econometric/Statistical Analysis of the impact of MES;
	Jobcentre Case Study research and analysis of the Jobseeker Surveys;
	a follow-up national telephone survey of 3,411 Jobcentre Plus customers to provide representative data on customers' experience of, views on, and satisfaction with, Jobcentre Plus services; and
	a Jobcentre Plus National Customer Satisfaction Survey.
	Furthermore, an independent evaluation of customers' reactions to these changes, carried out in January 2003, showed that between 31% and 48% of jobseekers reported an increase in the numbers and types of vacancies they looked at, the number of applications made, and their confidence in getting a job.
	An analysis of the costs to Jobcentre Plus of introducing Jobpoints was included in the overall MES evaluation in 2003. When set alongside reduced resources for operational delivery during MES implementation, this supported the conclusion that MES enabled improved efficiency, accuracy, flexibility and responsiveness of work processes.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the national performance targets are for Jobcentre Plus; and what the performance of Jobcentre Plus offices in (a) Torquay, (b) Paignton and (c) Brixham has been against those targets.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding what the National Performance Targets are for Jobcentre Plus; and what the performance of Jobcentre Plus offices in (a) Torquay, (b) Paignton and (c) Brixham has been against those targets. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	For the April 2005 to March 2006 operational year, Jobcentre Plus has been set six targets. They are:
	Job Entry Targetto achieve a total points score of 6,659,148 based on the job entry outcomes Jobcentre Plus achieves;
	Monetary Value of Fraud and Error (MVFE) Targetby March 2006, to reduce losses from fraud and error in working age Income Support (IS) and Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) to no more than 5.2 percent of the monetary value of these benefits paid during the year;
	Customer Service Targetto achieve 81 percent customer service level in the delivery of the standards and commitments set out in the Customers' and Employers' Charters;
	Employer Outcome Targetat least 84 percent of employers placing their vacancies with Jobcentre Plus will have a positive outcome;
	Business Delivery Targetto ensure that specified key Jobcentre Plus business processes are delivered efficiently, accurately and to specified standards in 90.3 percent of cases checked.
	You asked for specific performance information against National Performance targets at the Jobcentre Plus offices in Brixham, Paignton and Torquay. Because of the way in which Jobcentre Plus is structured, and the way information on performance is collated, we cannot provide target information at local office level.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1664W, on benefits, which Jobcentre Plus contact centres are operating some clerical processes due to problems with the customer management system; how many were operating such processes in each week since 1 June; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning which Jobcentre Plus contact centres are operating some clerical processes due to problems with the CMS system and how many were operating such processes in each week since 1st June. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Since the 1st June, none of our CMS contact centres have been operating clerical processes as a direct result of problems with the CMS system. Customers have experienced difficulties getting through to some of our contact centres because our business has been going through significant change. We have taken steps to address this by introducing temporary adjustments, including some clerical processes, to streamline business processes whilst we go through this transitional period. These temporary adjustments have been implemented as follows:
	August 2005 in three contact centres: Derby, Lowestoft and Sheffield;
	September 2005 in five contact centres: Coventry, Derby, Hastings, Lowestoft, Sheffield; and
	October 2005 in nine contact centres: Coventry, Derby, Hastings, Lincoln, Lowestoft, Pembroke Dock, Poole, Sheffield and Torquay.
	The nine contact centres that implemented temporary adjustments in October continue to operate these. Plans are in progress to reintroduce the non-clerical process to these centres during the course of the operational year.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent meetings he has had about the performance of Jobcentre Plus.

Margaret Hodge: Ministers meet with the chief executive and senior officials of Jobcentre Plus on a regular basis to discuss all aspects of Jobcentre Plus business.

Jobcentre Plus

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time taken is for (a) callback and (b) interview under the Customer Management System for customers who contact Jobcentre Plus through the medium of (i) Welsh and (ii)English; and what the average time taken was in each of the last three months.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 2 December 2005
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the average delay for callback and interview under the Customer Management System for customers who contact Jobcentre Plus through the medium of Welsh and English; and what the average delays were in each of the last three months. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Our aim is to call customers back within 24 hours of the inbound call. The current average waiting time for a call back in November across all contact centres is 1.9 days. In the week ending 25 November the average waiting time for a call back is 1.6days. This is a significant improvement on the average of 4.9days in September and 3.3 days in October.
	We do not collect information on average call back times specifically for customers speaking the Welsh language. These call backs are made by our Bridgend contact centre, along with those to English language speakers. Currently the average call back time in Bridgend is one day, in September this figure was 3.8 days and in October it was 4.5 days.
	We have an internal standard to complete work-focused interviews within 4 days of initial contact with the customer. Twelve of our centres captured data from 273 Local Service Outlets over a sample period from 16th September 2005 to 25th November 2005 on the waiting times for these interviews. This information is in the table.
	
		
			 Week ending Average waiting time in days 
		
		
			 2005  
			 16 September 7.2 
			 23 September 7.7 
			 30 September 8.0 
			 07 October 7.8 
			 14 October 8.5 
			 21 October 8.0 
			 28 October 7.6 
			 4 November 7.3 
			 11 November 6.2 
			 18 November 5.0 
			 25 November 5.3 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in which areas Jobcentre Plus offices have replaced Benefit Agency offices; and when he expects the remaining Benefit Agency offices to be replaced by Jobcentre Plus offices.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning which areas Jobcentre Plus offices have replaced Benefit Agency offices and when he expects the remaining Benefit Agency offices to be replaced by Jobcentre Plus offices. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Since the inception of Jobcentre Plus in 2002 we have been refurbishing and replacing the offices of the former Benefits Agency and Employment Service, on a rolling programme, to enable us to deliver the new, integrated Jobcentre Plus service. We are now in the final phase of rollout and every Jobcentre Plus district has live Jobcentre Plus offices and some districts are already completely rolled out. The following table lists all Jobcentre Plus districts, and where they are in the rollout programme.
	
		
			 Region and district Fully rolled out/partial rollout 
		
		
			 East Midlands  
			 Derbyshire Full 
			 Leicestershire Full 
			 Lincolnshire and Rutland Partial 
			 Northamptonshire Full 
			 Nottinghamshire Partial 
			   
			 East of England  
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Partial 
			 Cambridgeshire Partial 
			 Norfolk Partial 
			 Essex Partial 
			 Suffolk Full 
			   
			 London  
			 Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon Partial 
			 Central London Partial 
			 City and East London Partial 
			 Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth Partial 
			 North London Partial 
			 South East London Partial 
			 South London Partial 
			 North East London Partial 
			 West London Full 
			   
			 North East  
			 City of Sunderland Partial 
			 Durham Partial 
			 Gateshead and South Tyneside Full 
			 Northumbria Full 
			 Tees Valley Full 
			 North West  
			 Cheshire and Warrington Partial 
			 Cumbria Full 
			 Lancashire East Partial 
			 Greater Manchester Central Partial 
			 Greater Manchester East Partial 
			 Greater Manchester West Partial 
			 Greater Mersey Full 
			 Lancashire West Partial 
			 Liverpool and Wirral Full 
			   
			 Scotland  
			 ADGI Partial 
			 Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders Partial 
			 Forth Valley and Fife Partial 
			 Glasgow Partial 
			 HICC Partial 
			 Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire Partial 
			   
			 South East  
			 Bucks and Oxon and Berkshire Partial 
			 Hampshire Partial 
			 Kent Partial 
			 Surrey and Sussex Partial 
			   
			 South West  
			 Devon and Cornwall Full 
			 Dorset and Somerset Full 
			 Gloucester, Wiltshire and Swindon Partial 
			 West of England Partial 
			   
			 Wales  
			 Bridgend Full 
			 Cardiff and Vale Full 
			 Eastern Valleys Partial 
			 North West Wales Partial 
			 South East Wales Full 
			 Swansea Bay Partial 
			 West Wales Partial 
			 Wrexham and North West Coast Partial 
			   
			 West Midlands  
			 Birmingham and Solihull Partial 
			 Black Country Partial 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire Partial 
			 Staffordshire Partial 
			 The Marches Partial 
			   
			 Yorkshire and Humberside  
			 Barnsley Doncaster and Rotherham Partial 
			 Bradford Partial 
			 Calderdale and Kirklees Partial 
			 East Yorks and Humber Partial 
			 Leeds Partial 
			 North Yorkshire Partial 
			 Sheffield Full 
			 Wakefield Partial 
		
	
	By summer 2006 the rollout programme will be substantially complete and all of our customers will have access to an integrated jobs and benefit service.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which Jobcentre Plus contact centres are operating some clerical processes; and if he will make a statement on the (a) reasons for and (b) extent of clerical processing in each case.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning which Jobcentre Plus contact centres are operating some clerical processes; and if he will make a statement on the (a)reasons for and (b) extent of clerical processing in each case. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus is undertaking a massive change programme. By making substantial investment in improved IT, including the introduction of the Customer Management System (CMS), we are modernising and improving our service to customers which enables us to provide easier access to our services for all our customers, irrespective of their geographical location.
	Change on this scale does create challenges in maintaining levels of service. We know that some customers experienced difficulties in getting through to some of our contact centres in August and September. Robust plans were developed and implemented to improve performance. These include the introduction of clerical processes in some contact centres and the combining of the inbound and outbound call where appropriate. We have also strengthened recruitment plans supported by robust training programmes. These plans have been successful and we have seen week on week improvements in customer service since the beginning of September.
	On 30 November 2005 nine contact centres were using some clerical processes to process claims. The numbers shown below are the percentage of claims being processed in contact centres using these clerical processes.
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 Coventry 70 
			 Derby 14 
			 Hastings 53 
			 Lincoln 32 
			 Lowestoft 20 
			 Pembroke Dock 14 
			 Poole 12 
			 Sheffield 48 
			 Torquay 20 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the measures used to assist Employment Service and Benefits Agency staff in the cultural transition to Jobcentre Plus;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of staff views on the transition to Jobcentre Plus; and if he will place copies in the Library.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning the measures used to assist Employment Service and Benefits Agency staff in the cultural transition to Jobcentre Plus and the assessments made on staff feedback related to this transition. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive.
	The Jobcentre Plus programme, called 'Pulling Together', was at the heart of our aim to create and sustain a unified culture within Jobcentre Plus. It was delivered in every Jobcentre Plus site and its objectives were:
	Embedding the DWP Values in all teamsOur Values are, Achieving the Best, Making a Difference, Looking Outwards and Respecting People
	Developing leadership skills
	Giving our people the tools and support to build the new culture
	Improving the level of customer service
	Sharing good practice so that teams would take forward the best of both legacy agencies
	The spirit of Pulling Together was established as being something for local units to implement, with a deliberately 'light touch' from the centre. Fundamental to Pulling Together activity was the development of action plans to address local issues linked to the programme's key objectives. Facilitated planning sessions provided the opportunity for our people to consider issues relating to their transition to Jobcentre Plus. Any issues which could not be resolved locally, were fed up the line for resolution at either regional or national level.
	Following the success of the Pulling Together programme we have recently launched our new Culture Change programme, called Working Together which focuses on providing our managers with the support, resilience and tools they need to lead their people through change. It also addresses the cultural issues emerging from our staff survey results.
	The annual DWP Staff Attitude Survey provides a key mechanism for our people to comment on a range of important issues. I will arrange for a copy of the 2004 survey and the key actions we took in response, to be placed in the House of Commons Library. This feedback enables us to identify those areas where we can take action to address emerging issues and improve our working environment.
	These annual surveys provide a good picture of how things are working and changing across our business. We place great importance on the feedback received from our people and are always looking to improve the way we capture this information.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what services are provided by Integrated Jobcentre Plus customer-facing offices.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding what services are provided by integrated Jobcentre Plus customer facing offices. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus is gradually replacing social security offices and Jobcentres. Our customers can now make enquiries about their benefits and about job opportunities in one place.
	The services available in our customer facing offices include:
	Personal Advisers to provide tailored support to our customers and help with job readiness;
	telephone contact facilities through dedicated 'customer access phones' giving access to other Jobcentre Plus services;
	a new appointment system to reduce queuing and waiting times; benefit assessment at the new claims stage;
	touchscreen 'Jobpoints' giving access to the largest database of vacancies in Europe;
	general advice and direction; and
	'employer suites' in some officesproviding recruitment facilities for employers.
	The design and layout of the Jobcentre Plus offices also provides a modern, professional and welcoming environment for all our customers.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls have been made by claimants from 'warm phones' within Jobcentre Plus offices to Jobcentre Plus call centres in each month since 2003; how many of these calls (a) were handled by an adviserand (b) received an engaged tone; and what the average wait was to speak to a call centre adviser in each month.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning how many calls have been made by claimants from 'warm phones' within Jobcentre Plus offices to Jobcentre Plus call centres in each month since 2003; how many were (a) handled by an adviser and (b) received an engaged tone, and what the average wait was to speak to a call centre adviser in each month. This is something, which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
	We do not hold centrally the information required to answer your question on calls from Jobcentre Plus 'warm phones' and this could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Jobcentre Plus

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many crisis loan applications have been received from people who are waiting for their benefit claims to be processed by JobCentre Plus, broken down by contact centre.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 6 December 2005
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning how many Crisis Loan applications have been received from people who are waiting for their benefit claims to be processed by Jobcentre Plus, broken down by Contact Centre. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The information is not available in the format requested, as Crisis Loan delivery is not part of the Contact Centre network. Jobcentre Plus is in the process of moving its Crisis Loan application process to a telephony service, for all but exceptional cases. This service will be operated by Social Fund personnel, outside the Contact Centre network. Many Districts are already operating in this way.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobcentre Plus

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total processing times arefor new (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) income support claims in (i) JobCentre Plus areas and (ii) areas where JobCentre Plus is not yet rolled out.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 6 December 2005
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to reply to your question concerning the total processing times for (a) Jobseeker's Allowance and (b) Income Support claims in (i)Jobcentre Plus areas and (ii) areas where Jobcentre Plus is not yet rolled out. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The Department is currently rolling out its integrated Jobcentre Plus offices with 680 sites currently completed. At the same time, we are rationalising and centralising the sites where benefit processing is carried out.
	The information is not available in the format requested because processing centres keep statistics about the number of claims that are cleared and how long it took. The statistics show where the claim was processed, not where it originated so processing centres have no means to differentiate between claims that have been made via the new integrated Jobcentre Plus offices and the existing Jobcentres.

Jobcentre Plus

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what instructions have been issued to Jobcentre Plus and Customer Management System staff on the advice they should offer to customers who state they are suffering financial hardship while awaiting an interview and processing of their claim.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 6 December 2005
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the instructions issued to Jobcentre Plus and Customer Management System staff on the advice they should offer to customers who state they are suffering financial hardship while awaiting an interview and processing of their claim. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as chief executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	If a customer states that they are suffering financial hardship during the inbound call to a contact centre then staff are advised to try to book an immediate call back to complete the claim form. If this is not possible then staff will notify the relevant benefit processing centre to ask them to consider an interim payment or Social Fund referral.
	If a customer states that they are suffering financial hardship when we complete the outbound call then contact centre staff aim to arrange for an emergency interview at the local office to progress the claim urgently. If this is not possible then contact centre staff will book the first available appointment and then pass the customers details onto the relevant benefit processing centre for them to consider an interim payment or Social Fund referral.
	The instructions issued to staff if Jobcentre Plus advises them of the method of meeting the urgent need and should be considered in order:
	hastening the payment of the customer's main benefit;
	considering an Interim Payment on account of benefit: (an Interim Payment can be considered paid even if there are delays in arranging a Work Focused Interview);and/or
	considering a Social Fund Crisis Loan

Jobseekers Allowance (Musicians)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount of Jobseeker's Allowance claimed by self-employed musicians since 1998.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.

New Deal

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many long-term unemployed people have been trained in each month of the new deal 50+ scheme in the Canterbury travel-to-work area.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 8 December 2005
	Information on the number of people being trained through new deal 50 plus in the Canterbury travel to work area is not available. new deal 50 plus is a voluntary programme designed to help people aged 50 or over who have been claiming benefits for six months or more back into the labour market. It is one element of the Government's strategy to address age discrimination and improve the employment prospects of older people. In the constituency of Canterbury, new deal 50 plus has helped around 200 people into work up to August 2005.
	Although the new deal 50 plus programme does not contain a training element, personal advisers can refer people on the programme who are interested in training to opportunities offered either by other Jobcentre Plus programmes, or those offered by colleges and other organisations.
	Once in work, new deal 50 plus customers can claim a training grant of up to 1,200 for training and development related to the job, and a further 300 for life-long learning.

Pension Credit

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claiming pension credit have (a) enrolled with Jobcentre Plus services, (b) joined welfare-to work programmes and (c) moved into work with Jobcentre Plus support in (i) the UK, (ii)England, (iii) Wales and (iv) Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding how many people claiming pension credit have enrolled with Jobcentre Plus services, joined welfare-to work programmes and moved into work with Jobcentre Plus support in the UK, England, Wales and Scotland and if he will make a statement. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Unfortunately, I am not able to provide the information you have requested. We are, however, working to identify Pension Credit recipients as a separate customer group in the future.

Pensions

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the total costs in 200405 of (a) basic state pension, (b) second state pension and (c) other benefits paid to UK pensioners in other countries of the European Union.

Stephen Timms: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		 per week
		
			 Benefit Total benefit 
		
		
			 Basic state pension 12,042,200 
			 Additional state pension 77,700 
		
	
	
		 per year
		
			 Benefit Total benefit 
		
		
			 Winter fuel payments 4,535,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The figures are based on data from the 5 per cent. samples, but they have been adjusted to make their totals consistent with the WPLS data. These figures are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2.The data are taken from an extract of PSCS as at 31 March 2005.
	3.In certain cases, caseload figures for certain countries are nil or negligible, hence the expenditure has also been suppressed.
	4.Certain caseloads produced from the 5 per cent. sample data are under 500 and are subject to a high degree of sampling error, hence the associated expenditure values should only be used as a guide to the current situation.
	5.The winter fuel payment estimate includes Gibraltar, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
	6.State pension information is recorded on a weekly basis.
	7.Total weekly benefit figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred pounds.
	Sources:
	State PensionDWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data and 5 per cent. samples.
	Winter Fuel PaymentsDWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. data

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of women aged between (a) 40 and 44, (b) 45 and 49, (c) 50 and 54 and (d) 55 and 59 years would receive less than a full basic state pension if from 200607 until their retirement it was assumed they made full national insurance contributions.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		United Kingdom
		
			   Age in 200607 Number of women with less than a full BSP at SPA, based on own contribution record  Proportion (percentage) 
		
		
			 40 to 44 355,000 16 
			 45 to 49 333,000 17 
			 50 to 54 670,000 36 
			 55 to 59 1,304,000 66 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Estimates are based on the Lifetime Labour Market Database2, 200304. This is a 1 per cent. sample of the national insurance records.
	2.It has been assumed that individuals accrue entitlement to basic state pension between 200304 and 200607 at the same rate at which they have accrued basic state pension over their working life to date.
	3.Every year between 200607 and state pension age is treated as a qualifying year for basic state pension.
	4.Women who have interacted with the national insurance recording system at some point during their working lives, but who are not estimated to be resident in the UK in 200304, are excluded.
	5.It is assumed that all women who appear on the Lifetime Labour Market Database 2 in 200304 and who are estimated to be resident in the UK, survive until state pension age, and that there is no migration.
	6.Figures are given as a proportion of the total number of women in each age group estimated by the Government Actuary's Department to be resident in the UK in 2004.
	7.Entitlement to basic state pension is based on women's own national insurance records. Entitlement that may be derived from husband's records is not available.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of paying a full basic state pension, regardless of contributions, to all pensioners aged 75 years or over in (a) 200506, (b) 2010, (c) 2020, (d) 2030, (e) 2040 and (f) 2050.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		Great Britain ( billion, 200506 price terms)
		
			  Gross cost Net of IRBs Net of IRBs and tax 
		
		
			 2006 2.0 1.4 1.4 
			 2010 2.2 1.6 1.5 
			 2020 2.7 1.9 1.9 
			 2030 2.2 1.6 1.6 
			 2040 2.1 1.5 1.5 
			 2050 2.3 1.7 1.6 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The policy change is assumed to take place from 200607.
	2.Gross costs are estimated by the Government Actuary's Department and are consistent with the pre-Budget report 2005 assumptions.
	3.Savings in income-related benefit (IRBs) such as pension credit and housing benefit, and potential increases in tax revenue, are estimated using the DWP policy simulation model and April 2006 benefit rates. Savings are assumed to be a constant proportion of the estimated gross cost over time.
	4.It is assumed that the rate of basic state pension is uprated in line with prices growth (plus underpin) from year to year.

Pensions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of men in the UK who will reach the age of 65 years in (a) 2006, (b) 2017 and (c) 2027 will have national insurance contributions of (i) 44 years or more, (ii) 41 to 43 years, (iii) 36 to 40 years, (iv) 31 to 35 years, (v) 26 to 30 years, (vi) 21 to 25 years, (vii) 16 to 20 years, (viii) 11 to 15 years, (ix) 6 to 10 years, (x) 1 to 5 years and (xi) 0 years.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information that is available is in the following table:
	
		National insurance contribution years for men reaching state pension age in the 200405 tax yearUnited Kingdom
		
			  Men 
			 Years Number Percentage 
		
		
			 0 (39) (39) 
			 1 to 5 (40)1,000 (39) 
			 6 to 10 (40)1,000 (39) 
			 11 to 15 (40)1,000 (39) 
			 16 to 20 (40)2,000 (39) 
			 21 to 25 5,000 2 
			 26 to 30 5,000 2 
			 31 to35 10,000 4 
			 36 to 40 14,000 5 
			 41 to 43 15,000 5 
			 44 or more 228,000 81 
			 Total 282,000  
		
	
	(39)Nil or negligible.
	(40)High degree of sampling error.
	Notes:
	1.Figures are shown to the nearest thousand and may not add up due to rounding.
	2.Figures exclude people who have interacted with the National Insurance Recording System at some point during their working lives but who are not estimated to be resident in the UK in 200304.
	3.Figures are based on the Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, which is a 1 per cent. sample of the national insurance records. It is not possible to use this historical information to predict numbers of qualifying years for basic state pension with sufficient accuracy to answer this question for future years as requested. The model used by the Government Actuary's Department to forecast entitlement to basic state pension is based on aggregate level data, that does not permit accurate distributional analysis in the manner requested.
	4.Figures refer to the number of qualifying years accrued by men at state pension age in the 200405 tax year. For the purpose of this table a year of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) is treated as a qualifying year. (Although strictly HRP acts to reduce the requisite number of qualifying years needed for a full basic state pension (BSP), therefore men and women will not always require 44 and 39 qualifying years respectively).
	5.For the reason noted in 2, and others, this table should not be used to infer entitlement to BSP. For example:
	The first and second contribution conditions must be satisfied to qualify for BSP. The first contribution condition is satisfied through paid contributions from earnings or by paying voluntary Class 3 contributions during one tax year (either must be equivalent to 52 weeks at the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL)). Having satisfied this first contribution condition, a person must acquire a further 9 (for women) or 10 (for men) qualifying years through a combination of contributions and Nl credits. This second contribution condition is also known as the 25 per cent. de minimis rule.
	The table does not represent any entitlement to BSP that may be derived from a partner's contribution record.

Pensions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of women in the UK who will reach the age of (a) 60 in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2017 and (b) 65 in 2027 respectively will have national insurance contributions of (A) 44 years or more, (B) 41 to 43 years, (C) 36 to 40 years, (D) 31 to 35 years, (E) 26 to 30 years, (F) 21 to 25 years, (G) 16 to 20 years, (H) 11 to 15 years, (I) 6 to 10 years, (J) 1 to 5 years and (K) 0 years.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information that is available is in the following table:
	
		National insurance contribution years for women reaching state pension age in the 200405 tax yearUnited Kingdom
		
			  Women 
			  Number Percentage 
		
		
			 0 years (41)1,000  
			 15 years 6,000 2 
			 610-years 16,000 5 
			 1115 years 30,000 9 
			 1620 years 34,000 11 
			 2125 years 43,000 13 
			 2630 years 56,000 17 
			 3135 years 64,000 20 
			 3640 years 42,000 13 
			 41 to 43 years 16,000 5 
			 44 or more years 14,000 4 
			 Total 321,000  
		
	
	'' nil or negligible
	(41)High degree of sampling error
	Notes:
	1.Figures are shown to the nearest thousand and may not add up due to rounding.
	2.Figures exclude people who have interacted with the National Insurance Recording System at some point during their working lives, but who are not estimated to be resident in the UK in 200304.
	3.Figures are based on the Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, which is a 1 per cent. sample of the national insurance records. It is not possible to use this historical information to predict numbers of qualifying years for basic state pension with sufficient accuracy to answer this question for future years as requested. The model used by the Government Actuary's Department to forecast entitlement to basic state pension is based on aggregate level data, that does not permit accurate distributional analysis in the manner requested.
	4.Figures refer to the number of qualifying years accrued by women at State pension age in the 200405 tax year. For the purpose of this table a year of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) is treated as a qualifying year. (Although strictly HRP acts to reduce the requisite number of qualifying years needed for a full basic state pension (BSP), therefore men and women will not always require 44 and 39 qualifying years respectively).
	5.For the reason noted in 2, and others, this table should not be used to infer entitlement to BSP. For example:
	The first and second contribution conditions must be satisfied to qualify for BSP. The first contribution condition is satisfied through paid contributions from earnings or by paying voluntary class 3 contributions during one tax year (either must be equivalent to 52 weeks at the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL)). Having satisfied this first contribution condition, a person must acquire a further nine (for women) or 10 (for men) qualifying years through a combination of contributions and NI credits. This second contribution condition is also known as the 25 per cent. de minimis rule.
	The table does not represent any entitlement to BSP that may be derived from a partner's contribution record.

Winter Fuel Payment

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria were used to decide that the winter fuel payment (a) would not be means-tested and (b) would be paid to British pensioners overseas; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The winter fuel payment is not means-tested because we want a simple and cost effective payment that ensures all pensioners can turn up their heating in the winter months without worrying about the cost.
	The payment was introduced to help pensioners in Great Britain with their fuel bills. We are obliged under European law to continue paying the winter fuel payment to people who qualify for a payment in Great Britain and then move to another European Economic Area country or Switzerland.

Unemployment

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of economically inactive (a) men and (b) women are (i)aged 18 to 34, (ii) aged 35 to50 and (iii) aged 51 to 64 years; and how many of each sex in each age range have expressed an interest in working.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is in the tables.
	
		United Kingdom working age inactivity ratessummer 2005
		
			  Working age inactive people Proportion of all working age inactive people 
			 Age Male Female Male Female 
		
		
			 1834 763,583 1,723,943 25 37 
			 3550 593,131 1,499,471 20 32 
			 5164 1,280,508 1,075,221 42 23 
			 All working age 3,029,582 4,657,563   
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are for the United Kingdom.
	Source:
	Labour Force Survey, ONS
	
		Number of inactive people who have declared an interest in working in United Kingdom
		
			  Male Female 
			 Age Seeking work, unavailable to start Percentage of working age inactive people Would like work, not seeking Percentage of working age inactive people Seeking work, unavailable to start Percentage of working age inactive people Would like work, not seeking Percentage of working age inactive people 
		
		
			 1834 41,808 5 189,956 25 68,864 4 431,438 25 
			 3550 22,842 4 224,237 38 40,080 3 398,055 27 
			 5164 9,121 1 250,207 20 8,347 1 173,699 16 
			 All 102,323 3 752,151 25 149,462 3 1,079,660 23 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are for the United Kingdom.
	Source:
	Labour Force Survey, ONS

Work-based Learning

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been allocated to work-based learning for unemployed adults in (a) 200506, (b) 200607 and (c) 200708 at (i) Level 1, (ii) Level 2 and (iii) Level 3.

Margaret Hodge: The amount allocated for Work-Based Learning for Adults (WBLA) and Short Intensive Basic Skills for this year is set out as follows:
	
		WBLA/SIBS forecast expenditure 200506
		
			  National forecast 
		
		
			 WBLA 94,432,659 
			 SIBS 11,626,851 
			 Total 106,059,510 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Allocations for the 200607 and 200708 financial years are not yet available.
	2.Figures exclude allowance payments, associated admin costs and nationally funded expenditure.
	3.Allocations are not broken down by different levels of training.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Financial Strategy Division

Wrexham Benefit Processing Centre

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many telephone calls to the Wrexham Benefit Processing Centre concerning (a) income support, (b) jobseeker's allowance and (c) incapacity benefit were (i) unanswered and (ii) answered outside the length of time recommended by the Department since closure of the Rhyl Benefits Office.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 5 December 2005
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning how many telephone calls to the Wrexham Benefit Processing Centre concerning (a) Income Support (b) Jobseeker's Allowance and (c) Incapacity Benefit have gone (i) unanswered and (ii) answered outside the length of time recommended by the department since closure of the Rhyl Benefits Office. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	As you know, the processing of Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support and Incapacity Benefit, previously undertaken at Rhyl Social Security Office, transferred to the Wrexham Processing Centre at the beginning of August.
	The Processing Centre has a customer service target to answer telephone calls within 30 seconds and to answer 90% of all calls made. The tables below detail the average performance in the period from August to November.
	
		
			  Total number of:  Percentage of calls 
			 Benefit type Inbound calls Calls answered Calls abandoned offered which are answered 
		
		
			 Income Support 87,781 79,660 8,121 91 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance 30,677 27,974 2,703 91 
			 Incapacity Benefit 44,092 41,063 3,029 93 
			 Total 162,550 148,697 13,853 91 
		
	
	
		
			   Benefit type Average number of calls not answered within 30 seconds (percentage) 
		
		
			 Income Support 47 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance 27 
			 Incapacity Benefit 34 
		
	
	Incoming telephone calls to the Processing Centre are monitored on a daily basis and extra staff have recently been allocated to both the Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance Teams, to process benefits and answer telephone calls. Additionally, we are currently training a number of extra Incapacity Benefit Processors, who are scheduled to take up post in early January. We are confident these steps will help us to significantly reduce the number of calls that are answered outside the customer service target of 30 seconds.
	I hope this is helpful.

TREASURY

Child Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rates of child benefit were for (a) the first child and (b) subsequent children in each year since 198081; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The rates of child benefit since November 1980 are shown in the following table:
	
		 per week
		
			 Date First child Other children One parent benefit 
		
		
			 24 November l980 4.75 4.75 3.00 
			 23 November l981 5.25 5.25 3.30 
			 22 November 1982 5.85 5.85 3.65 
			 21 November 1983 6.50 6.50 4.05 
			 26 November l984 6.85 6.85 4.25 
			 25 November l985 7.00 7.00 4.55 
			 28 July 1986 7.10 7.10 4.60 
			 6 April 1987 7.25 7.25 4.70 
			 11 April 1988 7.25 7.25 4.90 
			 10 April 1989 7.25 7.25 5.20 
			 9 Apr 1990 7.25 7.25 5.60 
			 8 April 1991 (42)8.25 7.25 5.60 
			 7 October 1991 9.25 7.50 5.60 
			 6 April 1992 9.65 7.80 5.85 
			 12 April 1993 10.00 8.10 6.05 
			 11 April 1994 10.20 8.25 6.15 
			 10 April 1995 10.40 8.45 6.30 
			 8 April 1996 10.80 8.80 6.30 
			 7 April 1997 11.05 9.00 (43)17.10 
			 6 April 1998 11.45 9.30 (44)17.10 
			 12 April 1999 14.40 9.60 17.10 
			 10 April 2000 15.00 10.00 17.55 
			 6 April 2001 15.50 10.35 17.55 
			 10 April 2002 15.75 10.55 17.55 
			 April 2003 16.05 10.75 17.55 
			 April 2004 16.50 11.05 17.55 
		
	
	(42)Higher rate for first child introduced
	(43)OPB merges with mainstream CHB to become CHB (Lone Parent)
	(44)From 6 July 1998 CHB (LP) ceased for new lone parents. Transitional Protection for existing recipients and some lone parents in receipt of other specified social security benefits.
	The rate for the first child has increased by 25 per cent. in real terms since 1997.

Child Trust Fund Accounts

Edward Davey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many child trust fund accounts have been opened using initial vouchers worth (a) 250 and (b) 500.

Dawn Primarolo: All children eligible for the child trust fund receive a 250 voucher. Children from low income families receive an additional 250 paid directly into their child trust fund account when the family's child tax credit award has been finalised.
	Information on the number of child trust fund vouchers issued and the number of accounts opened are published on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_trust_funds/child-trust-funds.htm. The latest set of figures was published on 30 November 2005.

Closed Religious Orders

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of the tax relief associated with the charitable status of closed religious orders in the last period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs do not maintain figures on the cost of tax relief associated with closed religious orders.

Clubs

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) working men's clubs and (b) other private members' clubs there were in (i) Barnsley, East and Mexborough and (ii) South Yorkshire in (A) 1997 and (b) 2004.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many (a) working men's clubs and (b) other private members' clubs there were in (i) Barnsley East and Mexborough and (ii) South Yorkshire in (A) 1997 and (B) 2004. (35622)
	The number of working men's clubs and other private members' clubs recorded on the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR) in the specified areas are detailed in the table below. The figures include only such clubs that are registered for VAT.
	
		
			  Standard Industrial Classification 
			55401Licensed clubs 91330Activities of other membership organisations not elsewhere classified 
		
		
			 Barnsley East PC   
			 1997 10 10 
			 2004 20 20 
			
			 South Yorkshire county 
			 1997 130 330 
			 2004 145 320 
		
	
	Working men's clubs are included within licensed clubs. Private members' clubs are included within activities of other membership organisations not elsewhere classified. The classification system does not identify working men's clubs and other private members' clubs separately.
	These figures are based on the same criteria as used in NS publication UK Business: Activity. Size and Location and are consistent with that publication and can be found at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ukbusiness
	All figures have been rounded to the nearest five to avoid disclosure.

Departmental Expenditure

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) salary bill was and (b) administrative costs were for his Department in (i) each (A) nation and (B)region of the UK and (ii) London in 200405.

John Healey: Staff costs and administration costs for the Treasury in 200405 are shown in Schedule 2 on page 20 of the Department's resource accounts http://www.hm-treasurv.gov.uk/media/3A6/1E/resource_ accounts_20045.pdf.
	The resource accounts consolidate the costs of thecore Treasury, the Debt Management Office and the Office of Government Commerce. All costs for the Treasury and the DMO arise in London. The staff costs of the OGC are analysed by country and region for the purposes of the annually published public expenditure statistical analysis, and the analysis for 200405 was as follows.
	
		000
		
			  OGC Core Treasury and DMO Total 
		
		
			 Scotland 407  407 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,150  1,150 
			 Eastern 5,689  5,689 
			 London 11,160 60,730 71,890 
			 Total 18,406 60,730 79,136 
		
	
	As a small Department, the Treasury is not required to supply country and regional analyses of other administration costs. The accounting system is not designed to capture costs other than staff costs on a country and regional basis and therefore this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid by his Department in rates to each local authority in the UK in 200405; and how much was paid in (a) each (i) nation and (ii) region of the UK and (b) London.

John Healey: The Treasury paid 1,710,000 in rates in 200405, all to the City of Westminster.

Departmental Staff

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were employed by non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which he has responsibility in 200405 in (a) total and (b) each (i) nation and (ii)region of the UK and (c) London.

John Healey: Details on individual Departments' non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are set out in the annual Cabinet Office publication, Public Bodies. Copies of the 200405 publication are available in the Library and can be accessed via:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/the_future_of_the_civil_ service/agencies_and_public_bodies/public_bodies_directory/index.asp
	Information relating to staff employed in Departments and agencies, including by region, is set out in the annual Cabinet Office publication Civil Service Statistics, which is available in the Library of the House and can be accessed via:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/mangement_of_the_civil_ service/statistics/contents_for_civil_service_statistics_ 2004_report/list_of_tables_and_charts/index.asp
	The latest figures are as at 1 April 2004. It is expected that the data as at 1 April 2005 will be published early in the new year.

England and Scotland Expenditure

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the mechanism employed in public expenditure statistical analyses to differentiate between spending that can only be identified on a national basis between Scotland and England and expenditure that can also be identified on a regional basis within England; and how this mechanism affects the allocation of identifiable and non-identifiable expenditure between Scotland and England;
	(2)  if he will list programmes in the public expenditure statistical analyses where it is possible to provide a spending comparison between Scotland and England but not between the English regions; how these are allocated in terms of identifiable and non-identifiable expenditure for Scotland and England; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Public expenditure statistical analyses (PESA) shows figures for expenditure that can be identified as benefiting a particular statistical region of the UK. Statistical regions include Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the English regions.
	PESA also shows expenditure that cannot be identified as benefiting a particular statistical region of the UK. This is generally expenditure that is deemed to be non-identifiable across the UK. But it also includes some spending in England or England and Wales, where the equivalent spending in Scotland is devolved, and is therefore classified as identifiable for the benefit of Scotland.
	This mainly affects certain public order and safety expenditure. Other programmes of expenditure similarly affected but with small effects on the aggregates include elements of enterprise and economic development, environment protection, general public services, science and technology, and agriculture, fisheries and forestry.
	The overall effect of treating these spending programmes as non-identifiable is not likely to be substantial when comparing spending per head in the countries and regions of the UK.
	In July 2005 HM Treasury sought views from readers for the further development of PESA. The Treasury will be publishing a response to the consultation in the new year. The response will include options for further improvements in the country and regional analysis in PESA, such as whether to increase the extent to which expenditure is attributed to regionstogether with a preliminary assessment of the effects of chances and the costs and difficulties of doing so.

Enterprise Summer School (Wales)

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to hold an Enterprise summer school in Wales.

John Healey: Enterprise summer schools will be rolled out across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in summer 2007.

EU Budget

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the UK's net contribution to the EU budget in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Government's latest forecast of UK net contributions to the EC Budget, which covers the period to 200708, was included in footnote 3 to Table B17 of the pre-Budget report (Cm 6701, page 257) published on 5 December 2005.

EU Legislation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of the burden of administration on business that arises from EU legislation; by how much this burden has been reduced by the European Commission during the EU'spresidency; and whether this reduction meets Government targets.

Jim Murphy: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government announced on 15 September this year that a cross-government project to identify, measure then cut the admin burden placed on businesses, charities and the voluntary sector by Government regulation, which includes European Union regulation, had begun.
	We have had an active dialogue with the European Commission during our presidency, and are already showing them the benefits of our approach. One third of the legislative proposals that the Commission screened for impacts on competitiveness were withdrawn in September 2005 and a month later, the Commission adopted a simplification programme involving over 1,400 legal instruments.
	In addition my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced on the day of the CBI conference on Tuesday 29 November that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department of Trade and Industry and the Health and Safety Executive are publishing initial draft simplification plans. The results of the measurement exercise, targets and further initial plans for reductions will be published as part of the Budget next year.

Iraq

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of the intervention in Iraq from the beginning of operations until the end of this financial year (a) in total and (b) broken down by each service; and from what budgets that cost has been met.

Des Browne: The net additional costs of operations in Iraq, as recorded in the Ministry of Defence's Annual Reports and Accounts total 3,068 million as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year  million 
		
		
			 200203 847 
			 200304 1,311 
			 200405 910 
		
	
	The costs of operations in Iraq in 200506 will depend on force levels and operational tempo.
	The net additional costs of operations nave been met from the Reserve. The Treasury does not capture costs for each service.

Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what activities have been made unlawful by legislation introduced by his Department since 1 May 2001; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The following activities have been made unlawful by legislation made by the Treasury since 1 May 2001:
	Making funds available to a person listed under one of the financial sanctions regimes without a licence;
	Knowingly or recklessly providing false information in order to obtain a licence to make funds available to a person listed under one of the financial sanctions regimes;
	Supplying restricted goods to a person listed under the al-Qa'ida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/111);
	Providing technical assistance or training to a person listed under that Order.
	The following further activities have been made unlawful by legislation made by the Treasury since 1 May 2001, unless a person has authorisation from the Financial Services Authority:
	Issuing electronic money;
	Arranging and advising on regulated mortgage contracts;
	Dealing as agent and arranging deals in contracts of insurance;
	Assisting in the performance and administration of contracts of insurance;
	Advising on the merits of buying or selling contracts of insurance.

National Insurance (Musicians)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date his Department informed the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that self-employed musicians were liable to pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department of Social Security, which was then responsible for policy on National Insurance Contributions issued a press release on 15 July 1998 to announce the revised National Insurance arrangements for actors and musicians and changes to legislation from 17 July 1998. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport were closely involved in the discussions leading up to the changes announced which covered actors and musicians.

Nuclear Energy

Peter Law: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research his Department has conducted on the costs of nuclear energy. 35838

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The 2003 Energy White Paper published the results of extensive modelling of the costs of different options for reducing carbon dioxide emissions over the period to 2050. The analysis is available at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/whitepaper/phase2.pdf.
	The Department is also aware of other recent studies providing estimates of the costs of nuclear energy, notably those by the Royal Academy of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago.
	In November 2005 my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that there would be a review of energy policy which would report in summer 2006. This will involve further analysis of the costs of different options, including nuclear energy, for meeting the Government's long-term targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Oil Tax

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) jobs and (b) investment in the oil industry in the North Sea of the proposed increase in supplementary oil levy.

John Healey: The changes announced in the pre-Budget report were subject to detailed analysis to ensure that they delivered the Government's objectives of striking the right balance between oil producers and consumers, by promoting investment and ensuring fairness for taxpayers.

Oil Tax

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions his Department held with (a) the UK Offshore Operators Association, (b) the trade unions and (c) other interests on (i) oil taxation and (ii) the impact of a supplementary levy for corporation tax on the oil industry.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with oil industry representatives including UKOOA, the trade unions and individual oil companies. Such meetings will cover a range of issues relating to the oil industry, including the North Sea fiscal regime.

Oil Tax

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he informed the First Minister of Scotland of the proposed changes to the supplementary levy for corporation tax on the oil industry in advance of his pre-Budget report statement; and what discussions his Department held with the Scottish Executive on the impact on jobs and investment in Scotland of the proposed increase to the levy.

John Healey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer does from time to time hold discussions with the First Minister of Scotland on a range of subjects. Decisions on taxation are a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Pensions Commission

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the public expenditure implications of the proposals in the Pensions Commission's second report; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the affordability of the pension proposals made in the second report of the Pensions Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Members to the answer given by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) on 8 December 2005, Official Report, column 1445W.

Rent Costs

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid by his Department in 200405 in rent for properties in (a) total, (b) each (i) region and (ii) nation of the UK and (c) London.

John Healey: The Treasury paid 456,000 in rent in 200405, all for properties in London.

Self-invested Personal Pensions

Alan Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans (a) to prohibit investment by self-invested personal pensions directly into a residential property, (b) to prohibit such investments if they are for personal use and (c) to allow such investment only through an institutional fund.

Des Browne: The Chancellor announced at the pre-Budget report (PBR) that self invested personal pensions (SIPPs) and all other forms of self-directed pensions will be prohibited from obtaining tax advantages when investing in residential property, and certain other assets from April 6 2006.
	The Government remain committed to encouraging investment in a range of assets as part of pensions saving and is therefore minded to allow SIPPs to invest in genuinely diverse commercial vehicles that hold residential property, such as the proposed UK Real Estate Investment Trust model (UK-REIT) that was outlined at PBR.

Self-invested Personal Pensions

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the chronology was for the development of Government policy in relation to the use of self-invested pension schemes for investment in residential property over the last five years;
	(2)  how many (a) Treasury and (b) HM Revenue and Customs staff have worked on the new residential self-invested personal pension proposal over the last four years, broken down by grade;
	(3)  what assessment he has made on the likely effect of the changes to self-invested personal pensions announced in the pre-Budget report on (a) take-up and (b) anticipated cost of tax revenue contained in the relevant Regulatory Impact Assessment

Des Browne: holding answer 8 December 2005
	Like all policy developments, announcements on pension tax simplification have been made in pre-Budget reports and Budgets and a number of Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs staff have worked on the policy, The Regulatory impact Assessment focused on the impact of pension tax simplification of which self-invested personal pensions are only a small part.

Silent Calls

John Hemming: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 525W, on silent calls, what estimate the Inland Revenue made in 200405 of the number of silent calls made from its offices and those of its contractors using predictive dialler technology.

Dawn Primarolo: Full information is not available on the number of calls where contact was made but operators were not available and it is therefore not possible to make meaningful estimates.
	HMRC recognises that silent calls can cause people concern which is why, when using an outbound dialler, a caller line identity is always displayed so anyone missing a call would have the option of calling the number back. Additionally HMRC configures its predictive diallers to ensure the minimum of silent calls in line with Ofcom guidelines.

Tax Allowances

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the tax allowances that have been introduced since 1997; by what percentage each such allowance has changed since its introduction; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The main rates and allowances are set out each year in the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report and Financial Statement and Budget Report. Copies of this are available in the House Library. More detailed information on individual tax allowances and reliefs with an estimate annual cost of at least 50 million can be found in the HM Treasury publication, Tax ready reckoner and tax reliefs. Recent versions can be found on the HM Treasury website and historic copies are held in the House Library.
	Information on minor tax expenditures and structural reliefs where the costs are less than 50 million is published on the HMRC website. Historic versions are published in Inland Revenue Statistics.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1) how many tax credit overpayments were disputed in each month from January to October; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many disputed cases of overpaid tax credits there were in (a) 200405 and (b) each month since January 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answers to the hon. Member for Tatton of 12 September 2005, Official Report, columns 238586W, on tax credits, if he will update the tables to include figures for the months of August to November.

Dawn Primarolo: For the number of disputed overpayments of tax credits in 200405 and for the period 1 January 2005 to 31 May 2005, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 September 2005, Official Report, column 2385W to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne).
	The number of disputed tax credits overpayments in each month from June 2005 to October 2005 were around:
	
		
			 Month Number 
		
		
			 2005  
			 June 28,000 
			 July 35,000 
			 August 30,000 
			 September 30,000 
			 October 33.000 
		
	
	The number of disputed overpayment requests for June 2005 has been updated. The figure given in my previous answer only included receipts to the last Friday in the month of June rather than to 30 June 2005.
	1information for November 2005 is not vet available.
	For the number of appeals recorded against tax credits decisions in each month:
	
		
			 Month Number of appeals received (UK) 
		
		
			 2005  
			 July 2,175 
			 August 2,465 
			 September 1,305 
			 October 1,380 
		
	
	Note:
	Rounded to the nearest five cases.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff at the Tax Credits Office have received bonus payments in each month from January 2003 to October 2005; what the total amount of bonuses paid has been; what has been the largest single payment; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The (former) Inland Revenue introduced a Team Bonus scheme from 1 April 2003. Team Bonus payments were paid annually to directorates of the Inland Revenue which had contributed exceptionally towards achievement of the Department's PSA targets.
	The Tax Credit Office (TCO) qualified for team bonuses in 200304 and 200405. The maximum amount each individual in the TCO could receive was set centrally for the inland Revenue, according to grade.
	In 200304 all relevant targets were met and people received the maximum available bonus.
	For 200405 the targets and achievement were:
	
		Percentage
		
			  Percentage of maximum bonus payment available for achievement of target Target to qualify for team bonus Associated PSA Key Target TCO Performance against Bonus Target 
		
		
			 Decide 97 per cent. of claims, change of circumstances and renewals within 30 working days of receipt excluding ceased household cases 60 97 95 95.9 
			 Deliver quality casework of which 90 per cent. is fully satisfactory or better than standard 20 90 90 97 
			 Decide 94 per cent. of claims, changes of circumstances and renewals accurately 20 94% 90 96.5 
		
	
	As the first target was not met, bonus payments in 200405 were only 40 per cent. of the maximum available.
	The number and value of Team Bonus payments made to staff who had worked or were working in the Tax Credit Office (TCO), in 200304 and 200405 was around:
	
		
			  Number of individual staff in receipt of annual team bonus payment Value () Average payment () 
		
		
			 31 July 2004 3,850 938,542 243 
			 31 July 2005 3,755 425,229 113 
		
	
	The largest single annual payment made was 520, made in 2004.
	The Director of TCO has the discretion to award special bonuses to recognise exceptional performance and the dates and values of payments made are:
	
		
		
			 Quarter ending Total value of directors bonuses awarded 
		
		
			 2003  
			 April 3.700 
			 November 5,650 
			   
			 2004  
			 February 2,925 
			 May 3,750 
			 August 6,500 
			 November 2,550 
			   
			 2005  
			 March 300 
			 May 4,340 
			 September 14,500 
		
	
	The total number of Director's Special Bonus awards for this period was 162, representing around 5 per cent. of staff working in the TCO. The average payment was around 300.
	The largest single payment made during this period was 1,000.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average unit cost of processing new claims for tax credits including capital costs was in (a) 200304 and (b) 200405; and what it has been in 200506.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 24 November 2005
	The information requested is not available.

Tax Credits

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is his policy that money owed to members of the public through the tax credit system may be paid as a lump sum.

Dawn Primarolo: Yes.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates HM Revenue and Customs (a) requested and (b) received a written agreement from Electronic Data Systems to proceed with the compression of testing time for the new tax credit system; and if he will place this correspondence in the Library.

Dawn Primarolo: Electronic Data Systems (EDS) carried out a range of testing in the run-up to the introduction of the tax credits system on 7 April 2003, with the testing arrangements reviewed regularly. EDS provided a certificate on 4 April 2003 to confirm that the release of software was fit for purpose to deliver new tax credits.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will establish an independent inquiry into the introduction of the new tax credits following the settlement between HM Revenue and Customs and Electronic Data Systems.

Dawn Primarolo: There are no plans to set up an inquiry into the introduction of new tax credits.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the expected annual cost is of the measures announced by the Paymaster General for thereform of tax credits on 5 December.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is available in the Pre-Budget report 2005, Table 1.2, Estimated costs of pre-Budget report policy decisions and others announced since Budget 2005.

Taxation (EU Accession Workers)

Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of how much workers from the EU accession countries paid in tax in the financial year 200405.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on the amount of income tax, VAT and other taxes paid by workers fromthe EU accession countries is not available from HM Revenue and Customs' records except at a disproportionate cost.
	However, in November 2004 the Home Office initially estimated that, for the period May to September 2004, migrants from the accession countries under the Worker Registration Scheme made a fiscal contribution of 20 million in tax and national insurance contributions. The Home Office's research document is available on their website: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en/home_news/press_releases/new_figures_show_accession.

Unemployment Rate

Edward Miliband: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the unemployment rate in (a) Doncaster North and (b) each ward of the constituency was in each year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2005
	As National Statistician. I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. (35678)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey following International Labour Organisation definitions. Table 1. attached, shows unemployment rates for persons aged 16 and over resident in the Doncaster North constituency. The table covers the 12 month periods ending in February each year from 1997 to 2004 and the 12 month period ending in March 2005.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to sampling variability. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	Estimates of unemployment are not available for wards as the survey sample size for such areas is too small.
	However. ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA). Table 2 shows statistics for the number of ISA claimants expressed as a percentage of the resident working age population for the Doncaster North constituency from 1996.
	Comparable percentages for constituency wards of Doncaster North are only available from February 2004. Table 3 shows these statistics for the months available to date.
	
		Table 1: Unemployment rates for persons aged 16 and over resident in the Doncaster North constituency -- Percentage
		
			 12 months ending Unemployment rate 
		
		
			 February  
			 1997 11.5 
			 1998 16.9 
			 1999 9.1 
			 2000 8.1 
			 2001 10.5 
			 2002 10.2 
			 2003 6.4 
			 2004 5.3 
			   
			 March  
			 2005 6.0 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual local area Labour Force Survey;
	Annual Population Survey.
	
		Table 2: Jobseeker's allowance claimants as a percentage of the resident working age population for Doncaster North parliamentary constituency -- Percentage
		
			  Annual average 
		
		
			 1996 8.4 
			 1997 6.6 
			 1998 5.7 
			 1998 4.8 
			 2000 4.0 
			 2001 3.5 
			 2002 3.1 
			 2003 2.8 
			 2004 2.7 
			 2005(45) 3.1 
		
	
	(45)Average for period January 2005 to October 2005.
	Note:
	Denominators are based on 2001 census data adjusted to be consistent with 2001 mid-year population estimates.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus administrative systems.
	
		Jobseeker's allowance claimants as a percentage of the resident working age population in wards of the Doncaster North parliamentary constituency -- Percentage
		
			  Wards(46) 
			 Month Adwick Askern Bentley Central Bentley North Road Stainforth Thorne 
		
		
			 2004   
			 February 3.5 2.9 3.6 2.3 3.0 3.4 
			 March 3.2 2.6 3.7 2.4 3.0 3.2 
			 April 3.1 2.4 3.4 2.1 2.8 3.0 
			 May 2.9 2.2 3.2 2.0 2.5 2.6 
			 June 2.8 2.3 3.0 2.0 2.5 2.6 
			 July 2.7 2.0 3.4 2.0 2.3 2.4 
			 August 2.7 2.3 3.5 2.2 2.4 2.6 
			 September 2.8 2.2 3.5 2.2 2.4 2.5 
			 October 3.1 2.1 3.5 2.1 2.6 2.7 
			 November 2.8 2.4 3.6 2.4 2.3 2.7 
			 December 2.9 2.7 3.9 2.2 2.4 2.9 
			
			 2005   
			 January 3.2 2.9 4,2 2.6 2.5 3.3 
			 February 3.4 3.1 4.2 2.6 2.7 3.2 
			 March 3.4 3.2 4.0 2.2 2.8 3.0 
			 April 3.2 3.1 4.0 2.0 2.6 2.8 
			 May 3.1 2.8 4.2 2.1 2.6 2.6 
			 June 3.4 2.7 4.4 2.2 2.6 2.8 
			 July 3.4 2.5 4.5 2.5 2.6 2.8 
			 August 3.4 2.5 4.5 2.6 2.9 3.0 
			 September 3.6 2.6 4.3 2.8 2.9 3.0 
			 October 3.5 2.8 4.4 2.6 2.9 3.1 
		
	
	(46)The figures relate to census area statistics wards.
	Note:
	Denominators are mid-2001 census area statistics ward population estimates (experimental statistics).

HEALTH

Acute Beds

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute beds have been closed in 200506 in each hospital trust in each strategic health authority.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not centrally collected. However, data on the average daily number of occupied and available beds up to 200405 are available on the Department's website at www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity.

Ambulance Service

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from regional ambulance services regarding the impact of the Ambulance Service reconfiguration.

Liam Byrne: Ministers and the Permanent Secretary have received correspondence from Cumbria Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust, and Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
	Officials held a meeting on 13 September 2005 to discuss the proposed reconfiguration of ambulance trusts in England, to which all ambulance trust chairs and chief executives were invited.
	The Secretary of State met with the chair and chief executive of Staffordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust on 28 November 2005.
	Officials have also been in contact with ambulance trusts on an adhoc basis.

Ambulance Service

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she intends to make publicly available to assist the relevant authorities in responding to the consultation on Ambulance Service reconfiguration.

Liam Byrne: A national consultation document is due to be issued shortly. Strategic health authorities (SHAs) will co-ordinate consultation locally and ensure that relevant authorities and interested parties are able to express their views. SHAs may choose to produce additional local information to assist them in doing this.

Ambulance Service

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the process and methodology used for the Ambulance Service reconfiguration in the Yorkshire region consultation will be the same in each of the four strategic health authorities concerned.

Liam Byrne: A national consultation document will be published at the start of the consultation period. Local consultation will be led by strategic health authorities (SHAs). Guidance will be issued to SHAs to support them in this task.

Ambulance Service

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the four ambulance services affected by the reconfiguration in the Yorkshire region will have an opportunity to respond to the strategic health authority response to the consultation before its submission.

Liam Byrne: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) will lead local consultation on the Department's proposals for the configuration of ambulance trusts in England. SHAs will be expected to consult with local stakeholders, and feed back their views to the Department. The Department would expect this feedback to include the views of ambulance trusts.

Ambulance Service

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time to an emergency call to the Ambulance Service was in (a) England, (b) the Tees Valley and (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in 200405.

Liam Byrne: Average ambulance response times to emergency calls are not collected centrally. The data which the Department does collect on ambulance response times is published in the statistical bulletin, Ambulance services, England: 200405. This is available in the Library and on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/ll/36/79/04113679.pdf

Anti-cancer Drugs

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of (a) the cost per patient treated with and (b) the effectiveness of clofaribine in achieving remission of acute myeloid leukaemia;
	(2)  if she will list the options available to patients recommended for treatment with (a) clofaribine and (b) other expensive new anti-cancer drugs whose local hospital trusts lack the funds to purchase them.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 30 November 2005
	No estimate has yet been made of the cost per patient treated with, and the effectiveness in achieving remission of, acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) of clofaribine.
	Clofarabine is not yet licensed in the United Kingdom and is currently being tested in patients with AML who are older and not able to withstand the usual intensive chemotherapy.
	As with other unlicensed treatments, it will be for the clinicians and funding authorities concerned, in discussion with patients, to decide whether to prescribe clofarabine for AML in individual cases.
	Where a decision is made not to prescribe clofarabine or any other new cancer treatment, it will be for the clinicians concerned to advise patients on the alternative options for treatment.
	We are already putting record amounts of new investment into the national health servicebetween 2003 and 2008 NHS expenditure in England will increase on average by 7.5 per cent. each year. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to decide how best to spend these resources taking into account local circumstances.
	PCTs have many competing priorities but cancer is a national and local priority. Every PCT will have a sizeable number of people in their area who will be diagnosed with the disease, live with the disease and who die from the disease each year. PCTs will need to ensure they allocate sufficient resource to meet their local contribution to tackling cancer care or other areas.

Birmingham Children's Hospital

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the closure of 10 beds in Ward 3 for children under 12 years with severe mental health problems at the Birmingham Children's Hospital is planned.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 21 November 2005
	As part of an on-going review of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Birmingham, some changes in the CAMHS service based at the Birmingham Children's Hospital are being considered in the light of best practice and the needs of the children and young people involved.
	Any changes that are proposed will be the subject of formal consultation by the Birmingham Children's Hospital National Health Service Trust under Section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001.

Care Homes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a person who has been assessed as having above the capital limits for a care home can request (a) regular reviews of their care by social services and (b) social services to arrange the care.

Liam Byrne: Local authorities (LAs) have a duty under section 47 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 to assess the needs of a person who appears to them to require community care services. Having decided in the light of that assessment to provide services, they should develop a care plan for that individual. As an individual's need for community care services will vary over time, LAs are required to provide a review date in the care plan. Where a LA decides to provide community care services, it may provide the services itself, or make arrangements for those services to be provided. If a LA decides not to provide services following an assessment, because a person's needs are not eligible for support, the LA should inform individuals that, if their circumstances change, they can apply for re-assessment. Individuals can request a review or re-assessment at any time regardless of the funding position.
	An individual's financial circumstances should have no bearing on whether a LA carries out a community care assessment or not. Once an individual's care needs have been assessed and a decision made about the care to be provided, an assessment of his/her ability to pay charges should be carried out promptly. Written information about any charges payable, and how they have been calculated, should be communicated to the individual. The individual is entitled to request the LA to arrange his/her care, regardless of whether he/she or the LA is paying for it.

Chase Farm NHS Hospital Trust

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings took place in her Department in the 200405 financial year at which the future funding of (a) Chase Farm NHS Hospital Trust and (b) its accident and emergency department were discussed; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: There were no meetings during the 200405 financial year regarding funding of Barnet and Chase Farm National Health Service Hospital Trust and its accident and emergency department.

Dacorum Primary Care Trust

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) syphilis, (b) HIV, (c) lymphoedema and (d) tuberculosis have been diagnosed in the area covered by Dacorum Primary Care Trust in each month since January.

Rosie Winterton: The number of cases of lymphoedema and tuberculosis are not held centrally. Data for 2004 on diagnoses of syphilis made within Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) (and not by the patients' area of residence) are shown in table 1. The diagnoses of syphilis were made at genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics (and excludes primary care).
	
		Table 1: Number of diagnoses of primary and secondary syphilis by quarterBedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority 2004
		
			 Quarter of diagnosis Number of diagnoses 
		
		
			 1 6 
			 2 7 
			 3 7 
			 4 8 
		
	
	Source:
	KC60 returns, Health Protection Agency.
	Data on diagnoses of HIV made within Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) (and not by the patients' area of residence) are shown in table 2. The diagnoses of HIV were made mostly in GUM clinics (but also primary care, inpatient wards, antenatal clinics). For confidentiality reasons, data on new sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV diagnoses are routinely published only at SHA level.
	
		Table 2: Number of HIV diagnoses by month of diagnosisBedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority 2004
		
			 Month of diagnosis Number of diagnoses 
		
		
			 January 27 
			 February 15 
			 March 20 
			 April 17 
			 May 28 
			 June 24 
			 July 14 
			 August 9 
			 September 24 
			 October 37 
			 November 19 
			 December 13 
			 Total 247 
		
	
	Source:
	Health Protection Agency

Damages Payments

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the 10 largest amounts of damages paid out by her Department in the last year for which figures areavailable, indicating in each case the nature of the claim.

Liam Byrne: The Department has made no payments that can be constructed as damages during 200405.

Dentistry

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how bad debt to dentists from patients will be dealt with under the new National Health Service (General Dental Services Contracts) regulations; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Under the new contractual arrangements, dentists willas nowbe responsible for collecting national health service patient charges. The new general dental service and personal dental service contract regulations give primary care trusts new powers of assistance, including financial support to help dentists who are unable to recover the necessary patient charge as a result of a patient's failure to pay the advertised patient charge for NHS services.

Dentistry

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the new rules for patient charging for NHS dental services, with particular reference to the bodies responsible for collecting bad debts.

Rosie Winterton: Under the proposed new arrangements for patient charges, dentists willas nowbe responsible for collecting national health service patient charges. The new general dental service and personal dental service contract regulations give primary care trusts new powers of assistance, including financial support, to help dentists who are unable to recover the necessary patient charges as a result of a patient's failure to pay the advertised patient charge for NHS services.

Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the proposed system of units of dental activity was piloted.

Rosie Winterton: The pilot personal dental services arrangements now cover over 30 per cent. of dentists. These pilots have shown how dentists' behaviour and treatment patterns alter when the item of service payment system is removed and instead dentists receive a fixed income over a 12 month period. We have taken account of these changes in designing the new system of units of dental activity and the proposed system of banded patient charges.

Dentistry

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists are foreign nationals, broken down by nationality.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 21 November 2005
	Data on the nationality of dentists are not centrally available. However, the table shows the numbers of dentists in England who qualified outside the United Kingdom, as at 30 September 2005. Dentists have been counted only once, even if they have contracts in both the general dental service (GDS) and personal dental service (PDS).
	
		General dental services and personal dental services Numbers of dentists in England, who qualified outside the United Kingdom, by country of qualification, as at 30 September 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Total dentists qualified outside the UK 3,751 
			 South Africa 1,039 
			 Sweden 812 
			 Ireland 400 
			 Poland 341 
			 Greece 203 
			 Germany 155 
			 Australia 153 
			 New Zealand 115 
			 Denmark 108 
			 Spain 97 
			 Portugal 65 
			 Malaysia 57 
			 Italy 46 
			 Finland 32 
			 Belgium 30 
			 Norway 27 
			 Netherlands 26 
			 France 20 
			 Czech Republic 7 
			 Latvia 6 
			 Malta 6 
			 Hong Kong 5 
			 Iceland 1

Public Involvement

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to publish the results of her Department's strategic review of patient and public involvement in health.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 10 November 2005
	The Department's review of patient and public involvement (PPI) in health is part of the wider White Paper consultation, Your health, your care, your say. The results of the review are being fed into the development of the White Paper proposals. The results of the PPI review activities will be made available in the new year and will appear on the Department's website on the policy page for patient and public involvement. Hard copies of the results will also be available on request.

Primary Care Trust Assets

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she expects (a) hospitals and (b) other assets providing clinical services owned by primary care trusts to be treated under her plans for commissioning a patient-led NHS.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) today.

Hospital Facilities

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts (PCTs) run (a) community and (b) other hospital facilities; and if she will list each such facility, broken down by PCT.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not centrally available.

Health Services (West Lancashire)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process will be used to transfer the services provided by primary care trusts to alternative providers in West Lancashire.

Liam Byrne: In our proposals sent out on 28 July, we indicated that we were minded to require primary care trusts (PCTs) to reduce their service-provision functions by the end of 2008. Since that document, we have listened to stakeholders. The policy moving forward, in relation to service-provision, is that this will be a matter for PCTs to determine locally, so any move away from direct provision of services will be a decision for the localnational health service within the framework set out in the forthcoming White Paper and after local consultation, including professions allied to medicine.
	We will support PCTs who want to do that, but we will not instruct PCTs to do it nor will we impose any timetable. What matters is getting the best services for each communityand that is what the White Paper will focus on.

Operations

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in (a) the Uxbridge constituency and (b) England received (i) laser eye surgery, (ii) cataract removal, (iii) bladder keyhole surgery, (iv) coronary artery bypass graft, (v) knee replacement, (vi) hip replacement, (vii) ingrown toenail operations and (viii) varicose vein treatment in the last year for which figures are available; and what the average cost was of each type of operation to the national health service.

Liam Byrne: Data on the costs of national health service hospital services are gathered at healthcare resource group (HRG) level, and not at the level of individual procedures. These data are collected as part of the annual reference cost collection.
	The following table shows the relevant HRG category aligned with the information requested for the following procedures:
	cataract removal
	bladder keyhole surgery
	coronary artery bypass graft
	knee replacement
	hip replacement
	varicose vein treatment
	All data come from the 200304 reference cost collection.
	Information on laser eye surgery and ingrown toenail operations is not shown as these costs are not separately identified within the reference cost collection.
	
		
			Hillingdon hospital NHS trust Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS trust  England 
			 HRG HRG description Description FCEs(47) FCEs(47) FCEs(47) National average () 
		
		
			 B13 Phakoemulsification Cataract Extraction and Insertion of Lens Cataract removal 796  276,004 717 
			 B14 Non Phakoemulsification Cataract Surgery Cataract removal 12  5,567 793 
			 E04 Coronary Bypass Coronary artery bypass graft  994 19,215 7,131 
			 G13 Cholecystectomy 69 or with complications or comorbidities Bladder keyhole surgery 39  11,109 2,449 
			 G14 Cholecystectomy 70 without complications or comorbidities Bladder keyhole surgery 102  36,442 1,723 
			 H04 Primary Knee Replacement Knee replacement 207  46,585 5,306 
			 H80 Primary Hip Replacement Cemented Hip replacement 135  36,467 4,750 
			 H81 Primary Hip Replacement Uncemented Hip replacement 25  6,852 4,603 
			 Q11 Varicose Vein Procedures Varicose vein treatment 269  43,386 967 
		
	
	(47)Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs) as reported in 200304 Reference Cost Collection.
	Source:
	Reference Costs 200304. Own data.

Hospital Readmissions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital re-admissions within 28 days have taken place in each of the last 10 years; and how many were of patients aged over 65 years.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is available only at a disproportionate cost. Similar information on annual trends in re-admission rates including rates for patients aged over 75 years for the six years from 199899 to 200304, is available on the National Centre for Health Outcomes Development website at www.nchod.nhs.uk.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many operations have been performed by the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust on behalf of other NHS trusts in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many patients have received treatment in private sector hospitals on referrals from the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many operations were carried out by other trusts on behalf of the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust in each year since 1997, broken down by hospital.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the end of year financial deficit or surplus for the Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust was in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust was established in 1999. The table shows the information requested since 1999.
	
		Financial deficit/surplusHull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust19992000 to 200405 -- 000
		
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Surplus/(Deficit) 
		
		
			 19992000 85 
			 200001 28 
			 200102 4 
			 200203 18 
			 200304 17 
			 200405 (5,461) 
		
	
	Source:
	NHS Trust Audited Summarisation Schedules 19992000 to 200405

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the financial management targets missed by the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital Trust in the latest star rating appraisal.

Liam Byrne: In the 2005 performance ratings, the Healthcare Commission awarded the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust as 'significantly underachieved' against the key target of financial management.
	Source:
	Healthcare Commission

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available in the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust in the last period for which figures are available; and what the occupancy rate was in that period.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	The average daily number of available beds and occupancy rate for the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust for 200405.
	
		Percentage
		
			  Available Occupancy rate 
		
		
			 Beds open overnight 1,465 76.4 
			 Wards open day only 106 81.4 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH03

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust has made in integrating services for stroke patients with community health providers and social services.

Liam Byrne: The Hull and East Riding stroke service set up its organised stroke care in December 2000. This includes comprehensive facilities for stroke patients in community settings, including three inner city rehabilitation units working in partnership with private nursing home providers and a social services residential home. These are three, eight bedded units one at Rossmore Nursing Home, one at St. Marys Nursing Home and one at Alderson Resource (Social Services). The service has well established neurotherapists working in the community across the rehabilitation facilities.
	Work is also underway in the East Riding to develop partnership working further with Social Services to provide day rehabilitation facilities utilising the skills of therapy and health care professionals working together with Social Services.
	A service re-design is currently underway to strengthen community health provision for stroke patients further. Community stroke nurse specialists will work together with a team of stroke support workers to support the nurse consultant in stroke with the continuing physical and clinical requirements of stroke patients in community rehabilitation settings and also to develop more support in nursing and residential homes by providing training and expertise to support staff working in those settings.
	Source:
	The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many outpatients have been waiting more than 13 weeks for an appointment at the Hull Royal Infirmary following GP referral.

Liam Byrne: Information is only available for the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust. As at September 2005, 513 people were waiting more than 13 weeks for a first outpatient appointment. There were no patients waiting more than 17 weeks.

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures Hull Royal Infirmary has in place to prevent the spread of MRSA; and whether these meet national best practice.

Liam Byrne: The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust has signed-up to the Saving Lives delivery programme which is a key element in reducing methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and avoidable health care associated infections at a local level. It comprises a number of mutually reinforcing activities which will help the trust implement best practice to reduce infection rates. More detail about local action should be set out in the director of infection prevention and control's report.

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many patients have been admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary Stroke Unit in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many beds there were in the Stroke Unit at the Hull Royal Infirmary in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The Stroke Unit at the Hull Royal Infirmary was established in December 2000 and has 24 beds. The number of patients who have accessed the Acute Stroke Unit are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 668 
			 2002 638 
			 2003 566 
			 2004 559 
		
	
	Source:
	The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust.

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of Hull Royal Infirmary post-heart treatment rehabilitation services; and how many patients have (a) attended rehabilitation appointments, (b) stopped smoking and (c) made appropriate dietary and exercise changes since the services commenced.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally. Responsibility for local health services lies with the local national health service. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) in conjunction with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to plan, develop and improve services according to the needs of the local people.

Hull Royal Infirmary

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patients have access to specialist heart failure nurses at the Hull Royal Infirmary.

Liam Byrne: The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust does provide a heart failure service at the Hull Royal Infirmary, which has benefited from further expansion this year.
	Source:
	The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Independent Treatment Centres

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost of (a) orthopaedic procedures and (b) cataract surgery has been in each independent sector treatment centre carrying out such operations under contract with the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: The average cost of orthopaedic procedures and cataract surgery cannot be disclosed as the information is commercially confidential.

Influenza Pandemic

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the capacity of NHS isolation facilities and single rooms to isolate cases where necessary in the event of an influenza pandemic reaching alert level 2 in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Full information on the availability of isolation facilities is not available but departmental guidance states that new buildings should ideally contain at least 50 per cent. of their beds in single rooms. NHS Estates published guidance in February 2005 to assist local planning for isolation facilities and the Department is considering the need for guidance on ventilated isolation facilities. During a pandemic it is likely that patients would be cohorted rather than kept in isolation.

Influenza Pandemic

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the proposed changes to primary care trusts on the capacity of the NHS to respond to an influenza pandemic.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 21 November 2005
	The Department has formed a national influenza pandemic committee (UKNIPC) to provide specialist advice supported by a scientific advisory group to provide detailed scientific advice on the response to an influenza pandemic. Strategic health authorities, in England, are responsible for overseeing health planning and coordinating the local response. This remains the case irrespective of proposals for service reconfiguration.

Medical Staff

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the (a) three-month staff vacancy rate as a percentage, (b) three-month staff vacancy rate as a number of posts, (c) number of staff in post as a full-time equivalent and (d) number of consultants in post in each (i) strategic health authority, (ii) NHS trust and (iii) NHS mental health trust in London on 31 March (A) 2003, (B) 2004 and (C) 2005, broken down by speciality.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not hold information in the format requested.
	However, information is collected on staff vacancy rates and the number of staff in post which has been placed in the Library. This shows that the number of consultants in England has increased by nearly 3,200 (full-time equivalent) between March 2003 and March 2005 or 12 per cent. The three-month vacancy rate reduced from 4.7 per cent. to 3.1 per cent. in the same period for England as a whole for hospital doctors, excluding those in training and equivalents.

Medical Staff

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 622W, on medical staff Salaries, what the average salary of a (a) consultant, (b) junior doctor and (c) nurse was in 2004.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
		
			  Average annual earnings Average annual basic salary 
		
		
			 Consultants 94,700 74,600 
			 Doctors in training and their  equivalents (junior doctors) 47,900 28,800 
			 Nursing and midwifery  (qualified) 26,400 22,700 
			 All NHS staff 26,300 22,300 
		
	
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre, Earnings Survey 2004.

Midwives

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people (a) were employed as midwives in the NHS for the first time and (b) left NHS midwife posts in each year since 1980.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	However, the following table shows the number of midwives employed in the national health service in each year since 1980.
	
		NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Registered midwives in England as at 30 September each year
		
			  Full-time equivalent Headcount 
		
		
			 2004 18,854 24,844 
			 2003 18,444 23,941 
			 2002 18,119 23,249 
			 2001 18,048 23,075 
			 2000 17,662 22,572 
			 1999 17,876 22,799 
			 1998 18,168 22,841 
			 1997 18,053 22,385 
			 1996 18,262 22,595 
			 1995(48) 18,034 22,022 
			 1994 19,291 23,050 
			 1993 19,554 23,353 
			 1992 20,283 24,020 
			 1991 19,685 23,368 
			 1990 19,897 23,143 
			 1989 19,213 22,391 
			 1988 19,290 22,319 
			 1987 19,312 22,117 
			 1986 18,850 21,549 
			 1985 18,431 21,067 
			 1984 17,820 20,438 
			 1983 17,309 19,814 
			 1982(49) 16,268 18,439 
			 1981 12,743 14,763 
			 1980 13,056 15,209 
		
	
	(48)A new system of occupation coding for NHS non-medical staff was introduced in 1995. The new codes classify staff according to what they do rather than the terms and conditions under which they are employed i.e. national pay scales. Figures based on new occupation codes are not directly comparable with those based on the old pay scale classification. Therefore figures since 1995 are not comparable with earlier years.
	(49)From 1982 onwards data is taken from the Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census. Prior to 1982 data is taken from the Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England (HPSSS). Data from HPSSS contains hospital-based staff only and is therefore not directly comparable with later years.
	Notes:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
	All figures exclude learners and agency staff.
	Sources:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
	Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England (HPSSS)

Modernising Medical Careers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the impact of the modernising medical careers training structure on (a) junior and (b) middle-ranking doctors;
	(2)  how many positions for junior and middle-ranking doctors were available (a) immediately before and (b) immediately after modernising medical careers was introduced.

Liam Byrne: The launch of the foundation programme as the first phase of modernising medical careers (MMC) in August this year saw some senior house officer (SHO) posts converted to SHO equivalent foundation year two posts but this conversion did not affect the overall number of posts available for doctors working at the SHO level.
	The MMC proposals for specialist training have yet to be agreed in detail. The proposals would see the gradual phasing out of the SHO grade to be replaced by structured programmes of training leading to the award of a certificate of completion of training.
	Current SHOs will not be disadvantaged in the new training system and MMC will be working closely with the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board and Medical Royal Colleges to ensure that all are treated fairly.
	We have consulted widely on these proposals and will continue to engage with stakeholders, including the British Medical Association, to manage transition.
	In the September 2004 census, the number of medically qualified SHOs and equivalents was 20,094 in England. This was an increase of 1,882 (10 per cent.) from the previous year and an increase of 5,514 (38 per cent.) since 1997. The census is a count of doctors on particular salary scales or their equivalents, not a count of doctors with a particular job description. These figures therefore include trust doctors, clinical fellows and other such posts.

NHS Bursaries

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many eligible students who applied for NHS bursaries for their courses had not received their bursary by (a) the first week and (b) the first month of their course in 200506.

Liam Byrne: I am informed by the NHS Pensions Agency who are responsible for the NHS student grants unit that it is not possible to pay bursaries within one week of the start of their course. The other information requested is not available but I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb) today.

NHS Bursaries

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long on average an individual waited when claiming an NHS bursary from the point of application to the point of receiving the allowance in 200405.

Liam Byrne: I am informed by the NHS Pensions Agency that for new students in the academic year 200405, the average waiting time from claiming a national health service bursary to payment was 53 days.

NHS Bursaries

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to reduce the time taken for an individual to receive the NHS bursary.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) on 6 December 2005, Official Report, column 1233W.

NHS Bursaries

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are employed to deal with applications for NHS bursaries.

Liam Byrne: The NHS student grants unit is part of the NHS Pensions Agency. The NHS Pensions Agency employs 67 staff (65.71 whole-time equivalent) to deal with applications from national health service bursaries.

NHS Capital Expenditure

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total NHS capital expenditure has been in each year since 1990.

Liam Byrne: The table shows public capital expenditure from 199091 to 200405.
	In addition, private sector investment through the private finance initiative in national health service facilities is estimated to have reached 4 billion to date. Of the 139 hospital schemes authorised to go-ahead, 56 are complete with 32 under construction. The estimated total value of schemes authorised to proceed is over 19 billion.
	41 NHS local improvement finance trust schemes totalling around 700 million have reached financial close.
	
		NHS public capital expenditure: England199091 to 200405
		
			   Capital net NHS expenditure ( billions) Percentage increase Percentage real terms increase(50) 
		
		
			 Cash(51) 
			 199091 Outturn 1.426 16.7 8.2 
			 199192 Outturn 1.524 6.9 0.8 
			 199293 Outturn 1.752 15.0 11.4 
			 199394 Outturn 1.594 -9.0 -11.3 
			 199495 Outturn 1.865 17.0 15.2 
			 199596 Outturn 1.736 -6.9 -9.5 
			 199697 Outturn 1.341 -22.7 -25.4 
			 199798 Outturn 1.089 -18.8 -21.1 
			 199899 Outturn 0.808 -25.9 -27.7 
			  
			 Resource budgeting stage 1(52) 
			 19992000 Outturn 0.908   
			 200001 Outturn 1.246 37.2 35.4 
			 200102 Outturn 1.732 39.0 35.7 
			 200203 Outturn 2.107 21.7 17.9 
			  
			 Resource budgeting stage 2(53)(5508520054)  
			 200304 Outturn 2.451   
			 200405 Estimated Outturn 3.396 38.5 35.6 
		
	
	(50)Based on the gross domestic product deflator series as at 29 September 2005.
	(51)Expenditure pre 19992000 is on a cash basis.
	(52)Expenditure figures from 19992000 to 200203 are on a stage one resource budgeting basis. Cash figures in 19992000 were 0.963 billion, a real terms increase of 16.9 per cent. on the previous year.
	(53)Expenditure figures from 200304 to 200708 are on a stage two resource budgeting basis.
	(54)The resource budgeting stage 2 expenditure figures shown for 200304 and 200405 are consistent with table 3.4 in the 2005 departmental report.

NHS Executives

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS executives will be paid more than 200,000 in 200506.

Liam Byrne: This information is not held centrally.
	Information on salaries of executives of national health service organisations are published in their annual reports and accounts.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what spending on the NHS in England has been in (a) real terms and (b) nominal terms in each year since 1990; and what estimate she has made of expenditure on the NHS in England in each year until 200708.

Liam Byrne: The information in the table shows the growth in total net national health service expenditure in nominal and real terms (200405 prices).
	
		Net NHS total expenditure: England, 199091 to 200708 --  billion
		
			   A. Net NHS expenditure real in 200405 Prices(55) B. Net NHS expenditure nominal(55) 
		
		
			 Cash(56)
			 199091 Outturn 32.74 22.33 
			 199192 Outturn 35.06 25.35 
			 199293 Outturn 37.49 27.97 
			 199394 Outturn 37.83 28.94 
			 199495 Outturn 39.38 30.59 
			 199596 Outturn 40.05 31.99 
			 199697 Outturn 39.91 33.00 
			 199798 Outturn 40.72 34.66 
			 199899 Outturn 41.91 36.61 
			 19992000 Outturn 44.78 39.88 
			 
			 Resource Budgeting Stage 1(57) 
			 19992000 Outturn 45.14 40.20 
			 200001 Outturn 48.69 43.93 
			 200102 Outturn 53.02 49.02 
			 200203 Outturn 56.65 54.04 
			 
			 Resource Budgeting Stage 2(58)(5508520059) 
			 200304 Outturn 64.34 63.00 
			 200405 Outturn 69.71 69.71 
			 200506 Plan 74.52 76.39 
			 200607 Plan 80.10 84.32 
			 200708 Plan 85.69 92.64 
		
	
	(55)Figures are not consistent over the period (199091 to 200708), hence no comparisons should be made across different periods.
	(56)Expenditure pre 19992000 is on a cash basis.
	(57)Expenditure figures from 19992000 to 200203 are on a Stage1 Resource Budgeting basis.
	(58)Expenditure figures from 200304 to 200708 are on a Stage 2 Resource Budgeting basis.
	(59)The Resource Budgeting Stage 2 expenditure figures shown for 200405 to 200708 are consistent with the 2005 Departmental Report and Chief Executive's Report.
	Note:
	Based on the GDP Deflator series as at 28 September 2005.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria she uses to determine when she intervenes in individual funding decisions taken by (a) primary care trusts and (b) other NHS bodies; and what steps she is taking to ensure NHS organisations are informed of these criteria.

Liam Byrne: Revenue allocations are made directly to primary care trusts (PCTs) and it is for PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the health care needs of their local populations.
	The Secretary of State would only intervene in funding decisions made at a local level in very exceptional circumstances. There are no pre-determined criteria for intervention; rather it is a matter of judgment and full consideration of the issues in any given situation.

NHS Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library the most recent month's forecast of financial position for each NHS organisation submitted to the Department by each strategic health authority.

Liam Byrne: The 200506 forecast financial position at month six for all national health service organisations was announced on 1 December and copies placed in the Library. This information is also available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/FreedomOfInformation/ClassesOfInformation/fs/en

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2005, Official Report, column 266W, on NHS finance, whether it is her intention that control totals for each strategic health authority are set so that the net sum of control totals nationally is 0; and from which budgets deficits are met when all the control totals set across England add up to a sum of less than 0.

Liam Byrne: Decisions on the individual control totals for all strategic health authorities or their net sum have not been finalised.

NHS Pension Scheme

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether pensionable service of women doctors in the NHS scheme between 1972 and 1988 is taken into account when calculating the eventual widowers' pensions.

Liam Byrne: In line with the 1986 Social Security Act, the pensionable service of female scheme members between 1972 and 1988 is not taken into account in calculating a widower's pension unless an option was made to purchase pre 1988 service.

NHS Postholders

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) chairmen and (b) chief executives of (i) strategic health authorities, (ii) special health authorities, (iii) primary care trusts and (iv) NHS (provider) trusts have been in post for (A) less than one year, (B) one to three years, (C) four to six years, (D)seven to nine years and (E) 10 or more years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 21 November 2005
	The information requested is not collected centrally.

NHS Professionals

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost to the NHS is for a week's work from (a) a nurse and (b) a doctor employed through (i)an agency and (ii) NHS professionals.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Reorganisation

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many requests she has received to refer NHS reorganisation to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel; how many she has agreed; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: As at 30 November 2005 there have been eight referrals to the Secretary of State. The overview and scrutiny committee right of referral is to the Secretary of State who may choose to seek advice from the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP). Since its establishment, the IRP has provided formal advice to the Secretary of State on one case-in East Kent.

NHS Reorganisation

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the redundancy costs of the latest proposals for the reorganisation of the NHS.

Liam Byrne: Local consultation on proposals for reconfiguration of strategic health authorities and primary care trusts is due to start on 14 December 2005 and will last for 14 weeks. Until this process has been completed and decisions taken, it is not possible to calculate reliable redundancy costs.

NHS Reorganisation

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) ambulance trusts, (b) primary care trusts and (c) strategic health authorities she expects to complete reconfiguration by the end of this financial year; and how many in each category will be reconfigured during the course of the next financial year.

Liam Byrne: Changes to strategic health authorities will precede changes to primary care trusts, and any changes to the latter will not commence before April 2006.
	We expect that most ambulance trusts will begin to be established from 1 July 2006.

NHS Reorganisation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the proposed re-configuration of primary care trusts is still expected to deliver a 15 per cent. reduction in costs as set out in the letters of 28 July from Sir Nigel Crisp to primary care trusts.

Liam Byrne: Each strategic health authority has confirmed that reconfiguration proposals will achieve their share of the national management cost savings of 250 million or 15 per cent.

NHS Staff Training

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways the private medical sector participates in the training of NHS (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) other medical staff; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The private and independent sectors have traditionally taken an active part in training doctors, for example, by offering training placements, in palliative care, plastic surgery, occupational health medicine and latterly in pharmaceutical medicine. The national health service takes advantage of training opportunities in all these specialties.
	We have told independent sector treatment centres providing a service to the NHS that they will be expected to provide appropriate training for doctors and for other staff whether employed directly by them or on secondment from the NHS.

NHS Student Grant Unit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications have been (a) received and (b) processed by the NHS student grant unit for students starting their courses in September 2005; and how many grants have been awarded to date.

Liam Byrne: I am informed by the NHS Pensions Agency who are responsible for the NHS student grants unit that the unit received over 25,000 applications for new students starting their courses in September 2005. All of these applications have been processed.
	As at 5 December 2005, over 77,000 grants in total have been awarded by the NHS student grants unit.

NHS Student Grant Unit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the performance of the NHS Student Grant Unit in processing application forms for grants for the 200506 academic year.

Liam Byrne: The NHS student grants unit is part of the NHS Pensions Agency. As a special health authority, the NHS Pensions Agency is independent of the Department, and the chief executive and board are responsible for the operational affairs and the day to day management of the authority.
	I am aware that there have been some delays in processing applications for students starting their studies in the academic year 200506. As at Friday 25 November 2005, the NHS student grants unit was back within the target of processing 95 per cent. of bursary applications within 20 working days of receipt, providing they receive a correctly completed application form.

Nurses

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect of hospital trusts' deficits on nurse recruitment.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 November 2005, Official Report, columns 117576W.

Nurses

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applicants' fees the Nursing and Midwifery Council accepted from overseas nurses in each of the last five years, broken down by country of origin.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 24 October 2005
	The Department does not hold the information requested. The Nursing and Midwifery Council is an independent body. The hon. Member may wish to approach the Council for this information.

Nurses

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many decision letters have been issued by the Nursing and Midwifery Council to prospective candidates for the Overseas Nursing Programme in each of the last two years, broken down by (a) positive and (b) negative decisions.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 November 2005
	The overseas nurses programme was introduced by the Nursing and Midwifery Council on 1 September 2005.
	Data on registrations is not collected by the Department.

PCT Mergers

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the possible effects on funding for local charities and health advisory organisations of the proposed merger of primary care trusts; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not collect any information on grant funding of the voluntary and community sector by primary care trusts (PCTs), therefore I am unable to comment on possible effects on funding for local charities and health advisory organisations of the proposed reconfiguration of PCTs.
	For those strategic health authorities, who propose change to the boundaries of PCTs, we have asked for evidence to demonstrate how existing successful partnerships with local partners and local responsiveness can be maintained and improved.

PCT Professional Executive Committees

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which staff groups are represented on the professional executive committees of primary care trusts; whether she expects this composition to change following the reorganisation of primary care trusts; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The membership of the professional executive committees (PECs) of primary care trusts (PCTs) is as follows:
	the chief executive and director of finance of the PCT
	two persons who are employed by a relevant local social services authority
	at least one public health member
	at least one, but no more than seven of each of:
	medical practitioners
	nurses
	such other professional members as, in the opinion of the PCT, reflect the functions carried out by the trust
	There are currently no plans to change the composition of PECs. No decisions on the reorganisation of PCTs will be taken until a full three month consultation has been completed.

Premature Babies

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether an assessment of the impact of post traumatic stress and time off work for parents whose premature babies have contracted bronchiolitis or chronic lung disease has been made; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: No assessment has been made by the Department into the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and work absence on the parents of premature babies who have contracted bronchiolitis or any of the respiratory illnesses associated with the respiratory syncytial virus.
	National health service organisations were given guidance on the management of PTSD in adults and children in primary and secondary care by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in March 2005. Local NHS organisations should review their existing clinical guidelines, care pathways and protocols in the treatment and management of PTSD in the light of this guidance, and revise them accordingly.
	The NICE guidance is available on its website at www.nice.org.uk/CG026NICEguideline. This guideline should be used in conjunction with the national service framework for mental health, which is available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/72/09/04077209.pdf.

Primary Care Trusts

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it remains her policy to require primary care trusts to divest themselves of their provider status by 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Any move away from direct provision of service will be a decision for the national health service locally, within the framework to be set out in the forthcoming White Paper and after local consultation with a range of stakeholders including staff. We will support primary care trust (PCTs) who want to make such a change, but we will not instruct PCTs to do it, nor will we impose any timetable. What matters is securing the best services for patients locally, which is what the White Paper will focus on.

Primary Care Trusts

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has withdrawn the July advice to primary care trusts to divest themselves of the staff who provide services to patients.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 7 November 2005
	I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend, the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice), today.

Primary Care Trusts

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on her policy on the (a) commissioning and (b) provider roles of primary care trusts.

Liam Byrne: Any move away from direct provision of services by primary care trusts (PCTs) will be a decision for the local national health service within the framework set out in the forthcoming White Paper and after local consultation, including staff.
	We will support PCTs who want to do that, but we will not instruct PCTs to do it, nor will we impose any timetable. What matters is getting the best services for each communityand that is what the White Paper will focus on.

Private Patients

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the total revenue derived from private patients in the NHS was in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what the total cost of providing private patients with care in NHS hospitals has been in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not collect information on the cost of providing private patients with care in national health service hospitals. Income from private patients treated in NHS hospitals are shown in the following table:
	
		000
		
			  Total income from private patients treated in the national health service 
		
		
			 199596 207,448 
			 199697 235,733 
			 199798 273,232 
			 199899 290,840 
			 19992000 304,826 
			 200001 316,660 
			 200102 341,763 
			 200203 369,073 
			 200304 386,481 
			 200405 316,081 
		
	
	Sources:
	Audited NHS trust summarisation schedules 199596 to 200405
	Audited primary care trust summarisation schedules 200001 to 200405
	200405 figures do not include income for NHS Foundation Trusts

Public Engagement Contracts

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2005, Official Report, column 991W, on public engagement contracts, what the value is of the contract tendered to run the consultation exercise Your Health, Your Care, Your Say; how many and which companies bid for the contract; and on what date it was decided to award the contract to Opinion Leader Research.

Liam Byrne: The current value of contract with Opinion Leader Research (OLR) for the Your Health, Your Care, Your Say consultation is 952,104. Three companies responded to the tender, ICM Research, Market and Opinion Research International (MORI) and OLR. The contract was awarded 25 July 2005.

Public Service Agreements

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she has defined a personalised care plan for the purposes of measuring the achievement of 2004 public service agreement target number 4.

Liam Byrne: A key aim of public service agreement target number 4 is to improve health outcomes for people with long term conditions by offering a personalised care plan for those people with the most complex conditions. The initial focus for achievement of the target has been on the recruitment and training of the case managers who will be responsible for drawing up and agreeing care plans with patients. Further work on defining the care plan and how this should be measured is in progress and the outcome will be shared with the national health service early in 2006.

Quality and Outcomes Framework

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the impact that the quality and outcomes framework has had on the treatment of conditions which are not covered by quality and outcomes framework clinical indicators, with particular reference to osteoporosis.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 November 2005
	The Department has commissioned the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre at the University of Manchester to undertake an evaluation of the impact of the quality and outcomes framework (QOF) on quality of patient care. The study covers three clinical conditions: asthma, angina and type two diabetes, which are all covered by the QOF. However, the range of indicators against which quality of care will be assessed includes some that are outside the QOF; it does not include osteoporosis. This study will be able to assess the extent to which QOF and non-QOF elements of clinical management of these conditions are provided in general practice.

Student Nurses

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to speed up the distribution of NHS bursaries for student nurses.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) on 6 December 2005, Official Report, column 1233W.

Temporary Medical Staff (Costs)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS of (a) agency nurses, (b) agency doctors and (c) total agency staff in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust have been in each year since 1997.

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on temporary (a) nurses and (b) doctors in each of the past five years.

Liam Byrne: The Department collects expenditure information on non-national health service staff for primary care trusts (PCTs), NHS trusts and strategic health authorities (SHAs). Non-NHS staff expenditure figures include all agency staff and any other staff not directly employed by these bodies.
	Expenditure on agency staff in the NHS in 200405 dropped to four per cent. of the NHS pay bill. This information with explanatory notes has been placed in the Library. The rise in agency staff spend over the years covered in the tables has tracked the rise in established posts over the period.
	Reducing agency spend is part of the Department's contribution to the 6.5 billion Gershon Efficiency target and the 10 human resource high impact changes as highlighted in A workforce response to local delivery plans; a challenge for NHS Boards.

Waiting Lists/Times

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time in hospitals in (a) Staffordshire, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England has been in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The median waiting times for inpatient admission at hospitals in Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority, the West Midlands and England in each year since 1997 are shown in the table.
	
		Estimated average time patients have been waiting for elective admission, March 1997 to June 2005Provider based -- Weeks
		
			  Median waiting time 
			  Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA(60) West Midlands(61) England 
		
		
			 March 1997 11.2 11.1 13.2 
			 March 1998 14.1 12.6 14.8 
			 March 1999 13.0 11.8 12.8 
			 March 2000 13.8 11.8 12.9 
			 March 2001 12.9 11.6 12.6 
			 March 2002 12.4 11.4 12.7 
			 March 2003 14.1 10.8 11.9 
			 March 2004 11.1 9.8 10.2 
			 March 2005 9.4 8.1 8.4 
			 June 2005 9.0 7.8 8.0 
		
	
	(60)Shropshire HA, South Staffordshire HA and North Staffordshire HA merged to form Shropshire and Staffordshire Health Authority.
	(61)Data for NHS providers within Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA, Birmingham and the Black Country SHA and West Midlands South SHA have been used to represent West Midlands.
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH07.
	
		Strategic health authorities and corresponding health authorities
		
			 Code Name 
		
		
			 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA 
			 QEF Shropshire HA 
			 QEH North Staffordshire HA 
			 QEJ South Staffordshire HA 
			 Q27 Birmingham and The Black Country SHA 
			 QD9 Birmingham HA 
			 QEC Dudley HA 
			 QEE Sandwell HA 
			 QEG Solihull HA 
			 QEK Walsall HA 
			 QEM Wolverhampton HA 
			 Q28 West Midlands South SHA 
			 QEA Coventry HA 
			 QED Herefordshire HA 
			 QEL Warwickshire HA 
			 QEN Worcestershire HA

Waiting Lists/Times

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2005, Official Report, column 1160W, on waiting lists/times, whether the statement on page 57 of the NHS Improvement Plan that there would be 100 per cent. e-booking by December ever had the status of a Government target.

Liam Byrne: No, the statement never had the status of a Government target.

School Nurses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many additional school nurses have been employed since the publication of the Public Health White Paper.

Liam Byrne: School nurses were counted fully for the first time in the September 2004 national health service workforce census, two months before the 'Choosing Health' White Paper was published in November 2004.
	The census showed that there were 2,409 qualified nurses working in school nursing, the next count will be available from the September 2005 census which will bepublished in March 2006.

Western General Hospital

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to bring payment by results for emergency procedures at Western General hospital into force as soon as possible.

Liam Byrne: Final decisions on the scope and structure of the tariff in 200607 have not yet been made. These will be made once Ministers have considered the recommendations of departmental advisory groups.
	Providers will only be operating at full tariff by 200809. In the meantime, the introduction of the tariffwill be gradual, with transitional adjustments to provider's tariff income.